Mental illness is often a misunderstood thing. I have heard people laughing at the mentally ill, making fun of them because they are “weird”. That really pisses me off, for obvious reasons. Laughing at the mentally ill is caused by the lack of knowledge, understanding and compassion for those who face such challenges. Sometimes, this sort of ignorance has more severe results than just a laugh. This morning I was watching the news and saw a story about a 62 year old grandfather in Florida named Nick Christie. Christie was diagnosed mentally ill, but was not medicated. In 2009, he was arrested for trespassing and taken to jail. Christie became combative at the jail. Lee County deputies responded by either directly spraying him or fogging his cell with pepper spray at least 10 times. He was never allowed to "decontaminate. Other inmates in the jail, who weren't targeted with the spray, said the blasts were so strong that the secondary effects caused them to gag. The deputies put Christie into a restraining chair. Christie was sprayed at least two more times after he had been strapped to the chair. He was also stripped naked, and outfitted with a "spit mask," a hood designed to prevent inmates from spitting on jail personnel. In Christie's case, the mask kept the pepper spray in close proximity to his nose and mouth, ensuring he would continue to inhale it for the full six hours he was in the restraint chair. He died as a direct result of the pepper spray. I have tears in my eyes as I think about this. I have uploaded this song in hopes that it might help the “normal” people understand what a psychotic break feels like. I would like to dedicate this song to Nick Christie, may he rest in peace. Special thanks given to TiNoXBeatz for the use of the beat.



Joy Davenport