By Elizabeth Roberts

The sister of a mentally-ill prisoner has backed calls for a public inquiry into the apparent suicide in Westgate of paranoid schizophrenic Lorenzo Robinson.

The frightened woman fears her brother could kill someone upon his release if, like Robinson, he fails to be given the treatment experts say he needs.

"They said in the Robinson case that they don't have a treatment facility for paranoid schizophrenics. When I heard about him I thought that's just like my brother, he's in the exact same predicament," she said.

"How big is Westgate?Surely they can build a secure psychiatric unit there?Get them the help they need, perhaps then they can come back into society and live a normal life."

Experts advised six years ago that Robinson should be in a secure mental hospital, not a prison, after being acquitted on grounds of insanity of attempting to stab a tourist to death.

A ruling from the Chief Justice in March backed those recommendations, but the judge said he had no power to interfere in the political decision to establish a secure psychiatric unit in Westgate or send Robinson, 28, overseas for treatment.

Although efforts on both fronts were said to be underway, nothing had come to fruition by the time he was found hanged in his cell on July 13. Government has remained tight-lipped over the death, but an inquest will be held in due course.

Speaking out about the case, Ms B* detailed the plight of her brother. Now aged in his 30s, he was jailed for six years in 2003 for a violent and unprovoked attack on a woman. It was the latest in a long line of increasingly violent attacks that have seen him in and out of jail all his adult life.

Mr. B was diagnosed as a paranoid psychopath prior to being sentenced, with a psychiatric report recommending that he would benefit from treatment in an overseas mental hospital.However, despite recognising that his mental disorder meant he could commit another crime, the judge said overseas treatment was an issue that would have to be dealt with post-sentencing. Since Mr. B has been in Westgate, his diagnosis has been amended to paranoid schizophrenia, the same condition suffered by Robinson. And just as in that case, experts have continued to recommend that he needs the kind of help unavailable in Bermuda.

"Send him somewhere, let him get some help," urged Ms B. "My brother is bright, really bright. He could possibly be helped because there are paranoid schizophrenics walking around every day. They keep regular jobs, run businesses, but with proper medication and management, and learning how to deal with it."

Three lawyers who represented Lorenzo Robinson, Elizabeth Christopher, Narinder Dosanjh and LlewellynPeniston, have called for a public inquiry into his death. They believe lessons need to be learned for the benefit of other mentally ill prisoners who may be waiting in vain for specialist help. Ms B. agrees.

"There definitely should be a public inquiry. Something needs to be done. It's not just Lorenzo, I read The Royal Gazette court reports and there are a number of people inWestgate besides my brother with mental illnesses," she said.

With his release due next year, she fears Mr. B is just as dangerous as when he was jailed, especially since he managed to send threatening letters to her and her family from inside Westgate last year.

"He made threats to my mother and my father. It's not fair on us to think that when he comes out he can attack us. I've got my kids, my grandkid", said Ms B.

"The crime he committed is something that could have happened to my daughter, so for me I'm scared for my family, really nervous. It's not only fear for my family though, but for the public. Every attack he's done over the years has increased in violence."

Ms B does not wish her comments to be perceived as criticism of those caring for her brother in Westgate, who she believes are doing all they can. He has gained his GED since being inside, participated in anger management and other therapeutic courses, and been put on medication that has helped stabilise him.

However, she believes that he still needs specialist therapy overseas for the sake of his own future and the protection of others.

"Next year he's going to be released. If you release somebody like this back into the community, the community is going to get hurt. I don't think he's a suicide risk. He's too vengeful for that, it's him hurting other people I'm worried about," she said. "Do we have to wait until somebody dies, until he kills somebody, before we say 'actually, we need to put something in place for these people'?".

The Ministries of Health and Home Affairs and the Commissioner of Corrections were invited to address the points raised in this report.

The Ministry of Health declined to comment and the others did not respond.

* Ms B asked that her name, and that of her brother, be withheld from publication for the privacy of her wider family and his victims.