![]() ![]() Statistics on the number of incarcerated veterans are out of date, but the latest numbers from the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, from 2004, found roughly 700,000 veterans were in prison or jail, and that they were more likely than non-veterans to have been treated for mental health problems before their brushes with the law. He was treated several times in veteran hospitals, but once discharged would gradually return to his erratic behavior.Ĭastañeda’s is an amplified version of a story being replicated around the country. He totaled his car in a drunk-driving accident and tried to assault a police officer. Castañeda disappeared for several days, missing the funeral while spiraling further out of control. One night, while he was asleep, his brother got into a fight with a friend, and ended up killed - shot with a gun Castañeda had purchased for protection. His coping formula was Red Bull and Valium.Ĭastañeda moved in with his little brother. Doctors have told his lawyer that his mental illness was exacerbated by combat experiences.Īfter an honorable discharge in late 2008, Castañeda’s mental health steadily worsened, said his mother, Maria Anna Esparza. Shortly after his return, he admitted himself to a private hospital, where he was diagnosed with psychosis and possible suicidal ideation. He served as a scout sniper for four years and was deployed to Iraq during the surge of U.S. Sitting at the intersection of mental health, veterans’ affairs, and the criminal justice system, Castañeda’s story is an increasingly familiar one as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down. Fear drives harsh sentences, usually served in prisons where their mental illnesses grow worse. ![]() Prosecutors, judges and juries often look at men like this - the history of violence combined with paranoia and delusions - and see not disease but danger. Though his life since Iraq has been defined by serious mental illness, Castañeda faces an uphill struggle to have his condition recognized as relevant to his actions. Since then, he has drifted back and forth between a state psychiatric hospital, where he was treated for severe psychosis, and an isolation cell at the county jail, where his symptoms steadily worsened. Comal County Sheriff’s OfficeĬastañeda was arrested three and a half years ago after firing 23 rounds of bullets into his mother’s house near San Antonio. ![]()
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