Jackson Jambalaya

No one has asked so I am.....Three daughters at the hearing, and I know I read that Dr. Smith has a grown son who is also a doctor himself. How could these children not realize like almost everyone else that something was not right with their Dad and that he had serious mental issues? Surely they could have done something to help him. Seems everyone including his family just accepted he was nuts and looked the other way.

11:27, it's not always that easy. The kids might not have been in agreement on what course to take, and forced committals are harder when there is a split among the family as to whether the committal is necessary. I'd also be pretty certain that someone as paranoid as Dr. Smith would have taken staps to protect himself and his assets so well that even all the kids together would have a hard time believing they'd be successful.

One of the most common reasons people don't take action is they are afraid that they will do more damage to the person by acting "against" him/her than the person will suffer if left alone. The common refrain is something like "I know he needs help but if we take away his independence, he'll kill himself." It's not a totally unfounded concern. And whether or not it should matter, they were also probably worried that if they did act, then dad would hate all of them.

I would imagine that his four kids had discussed "the dad situation" more than once, but were waiting for some sign that he had hit rock bottom before acting. Bet they never thought the sign would be a murder-for-hire plot.

Just conjecture ....

Anon 11:27-
No one has asked b/c it's out of line and immaterial.
His children are all good people and I consider many of them as friends.

Leave the kids out of it. They're all good people and are going through a very difficult time. They have lived with their mother for the last fifteen years or so, and weren't around him on a daily basis. With the laws the way they are, no judge would have declared him incompetent anyway, especially with him being a physician. I know most of the children and they are all fine young people who I'd be proud of if they were mine. They did nothing wrong, shouldn't have done anything any differently so, again, leave the kids out of it!!

12:52. No, it's not out of line to wonder why his family didn't take some action about him. I wondered the same thing myself. Also, no one has said or implied his children are not good people. In fact many probably just feel real sorry for them about their Dad. I know it do. It can't have been easy dealing with him.

Treating the question of the family's knowledge & actions as somehow off limits is EXACTLY the kind of thinking that left this man going crazy for years without intervention or help.

If any good can come out of this, maybe some public discussion of the family's problem can help some other folks understand where to get help and what can be done.

If his son is a licensed physician in Mississippi, as was posted above, he has a legal obligation to report his father if he is a danger to himself or others.

I guess a murder-for-hire plot doesn't count in some people's minds as a "danger to others".

All the other complications noted above are valid, but his son could have gotten him committed at least for 72 hours.

Most of his children are grown and gone, and only saw him during holidays. They have lives and families of their own. If they thought he was eccentric I'm not sure what they were supposed to do about it.
This is ridiculous to even try and blame any of it on them.

It is not all as easy as one might think to get help for a family member who so obviously needs it. I believe I am correct in saying that it has to be provable that the person could bring harm to himself or someone else. Certainly that should be the case now, but until Dr. Smith's arrest, that was probably not the case. Yes, he exhibited many quirky personality traits, but nothing to my knowledge that would show he intended to bring phyisical harm to anyone. Having witnessed the actions of an extended family member with a mental illness, I know how difficult and frustrating it is for the rest of the family to deal with the situation and attempt to help their loved one.

"....was flown to the University of MS Medical Center."

I'm sure his private insurance in which he pays for through his employer will be filed to help pay the cost of the helicopter ride and treatment at the hospital. (insert sarcasm here)

The son by the second wife is only a second year medical student, therefore not a licensed physician. Don't know about the kids by the first wife. The oldest of the daughters is in her early thirties and the other two are in their 20's - hardly old enough to make decisions like what is being discussed. I think he is currently married. If so, the kids would have a hard time doing anything without her on board. Anyone who has had to deal with a family member's competency would not be so quick to judge. It's a lot harder and there are many more issues than one might think. Leave the kids out of it!!!!

OK as to the ages if the children. See the Statement of Understanding dated Oct 7, 1999 that is posted on this blog:

Meet Mr. Smith (1 May 2012)

http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2012/05/meet-dr-arnold-smith.html

In this statement of record Dr. Smith says he has 9 children and gives their birthdays. Today two of these children would be in the 40s, three in their 30s, two in their 20s, and two in their teens.

He futher says his oldest son was doing a radiology oncology residency in TX at the time.

The proof that he was off his rocker came
with the 10 year old video where he drug the little
elderly woman out from the Greenwood Upholstery
Shop in front of a camera - and convinced her to substantiate his theory that his maids were secretly
employed by the Illuminati, Masons, Phi Delts , Pikes
& such to replace his kitchen chairs.

I hate to laugh at the mentally ill, but that video was too funny.

Again, please leave his children out of it. Previous poster is correct on fact that none live with nor have undet his roof for many years. Several live out of state. Some are away at college. Only see him, as I have, at rare, infrequent reunions, mostly every other year or so.

It is a significant faux pas for kitchen chairs to be upholstered in the first place. It would be considered gauche in all but several Mediterranean cultures to place an upholstered chair in the kitchen area ~ Unless one is a college student making do with various pieces of furniture collected from junktique shops. Obviously you people are barking up wrong trees and missing important clues.

10:01. Look at the video and read the Statement of Understanding linked above from ten years back if you haven't already. He was obviously very sick even back then and now he is in jail for a murder-for-hire plot with the strong possibility of being in prison the rest of his life. People are just wondering how in the world it ever got this far without someone, anyone stepping in to help him.

Whatta they say about 'a woman scorned'? But in this case, it's a 'man scorned'. No amount of guidance and intervention will get between a crazed, scorned man and his evil intent. When a man perceives himself to have publicly been done bad-wrong by a woman, and with the help of another man, it's only a matter of time. Reason and logic aren't in the picture.

Months or years from now, people will point to Shadowfax's comments and wonder how the other commenters failed to intervene, given that all the warning signs were there.

Anderson,

I've been laughing all all day since your warning about poor Shadowfax.

I am a personal friend of this family and in particular his ex-wife. Please do not wonder why they have not tried to intervene because they have. These kids are absolutely wonderful and hurting! Your right about that, and for those of you not aware you really don't have a choice in your biological father. You can be so manipulative and conniving , and kids may not can see that especially at a young age because in most cases I believe all we all want is to be loved by our parents. It is a sad sad case and many are not aware of all the facts so unless you know them no opinion should be offered .

10:41 - Right on!!!!