Couple Found Slain

May 1, 2021

Psychoanalyst Brottman (An Unexplained Death) offers a fascinating, well-written glimpse into forensic psychiatric facilities in the U.S. Brian Bechtold, the youngest of five in an abusive household, confessed to killing his parents at age 22 in 1992. Because of mental illness, he was deemed "not criminally responsible" for the crime and was committed to Maryland's maximum-security psychiatric facility, the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center. Brottman met Bechtold while leading a group session, and after getting to know him and learning more about Perkins, she now questions why he is still there. Though Perkins's stated goal is to return patients to society, Bechtold has been institutionalized for almost 30 years, with no release date in sight. Bechtold maintains that he has been mentally healthy for several years and that forced medication and harsh conditions at Perkins have caused him to react in anger and violence, which are interpreted as signs of mental illness. Relying on interviews with Bechtold and Perkins staff, and research on similar cases, Brottman deftly points to problems at facilities like Perkins, from psychiatrists who spend too little time with patients, to high staff turnover. VERDICT This thought-provoking book adds to conversations about the role of psychiatric institutions and how society can offer solutions.--Karen Sandlin Silverman, Mt. Ararat Middle Sch., Topsham, ME

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2021
Continuing to explore true crime in unexpected ways following An Unexplained Death (2018), Brottman profiles Brian Bechtold, who has been incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital for the past 27 years. In 1992, Bechtold showed up at a Texas police station and confessed to murdering his parents weeks prior, back in Maryland. He was suffering from severe mental illness, and was committed to Clifton T. Perkins Hospital. However, Bechtold has since maintained that he no longer suffers from psychosis, and while he has seen the release of many other patients, including others guilty of parricide, his doctors have persisted in claiming that he is paranoid, delusional, and dangerous, even if this is not observable to a lay person. It doesn't help that Bechtold tried to escape out of desperation, refused treatment for cancer, and injured a social worker. While Brottman clearly believes Bechtold no longer poses a threat to himself or others, it may not be quite so clear to readers. Regardless, she makes a compelling case against the unjust, seemingly arbitrary treatment of those deemed "criminally insane."

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

May 17, 2021
In this sobering account, psychoanalyst Brottman (An Unexplained Death: The True Story of a Body at the Belvedere) picks up where most true crime books end—after the investigation and sentencing. On Feb. 21, 1992, 22-year-old Brian Bechtold surrendered himself to police in Port St. Joe, Fla., and confessed to murdering his parents after suffering schizophrenic paranoid delusions. He was found “not criminally responsible” on the grounds of insanity and remanded to a maximum-security psychiatric hospital. Though Brottman briefly covers the family members and their psychological histories, she focuses on Bechtold’s life post-sentencing, during which he’s attempted suicide, filed lawsuits, and sought regular criminal incarceration to escape his perpetual confinement. Through in-depth research, patient interviews, and police and medical records, Brottman delivers a horrifying account of life for the “criminally insane,” who are often drugged into submission, abused by overworked staff, victimized by other patients, and held at the mercy of subjective and conflicting psychiatric assessments that can lead to confinements far longer than the traditional sentences for the original crimes. Brottman draws with authority on case studies and criminal statistics to dispel the common misconception that the insanity defense is preferable to prison and amounts to a get-out-of-jail-free card. True crime fans looking for a provocative approach to the genre will be rewarded.

June 1, 2021
An account of the aftermath of a violent crime. Brian Bechtold was 22 when he killed his parents in 1992. After a week or two on the run, he turned himself in to the police. Bechtold was eventually diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia; he was ruled "not criminally responsible" for his crime and spent almost three decades in a psychiatric hospital. In the introduction, Brottman, a writer and psychoanalyst, claims that while "most true crime stories focus on the buildup to the crime, the incident itself, and the quest for justice," this book--an account of Bechtold's institutionalization--"is about another part of the story, the part that begins when the verdict is announced, the sentence handed down." That overture begins the author's plea on Bechtold's behalf. Throughout his time at the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center in Maryland, Bechtold maintained that while he had certainly suffered from a mental illness at the time of his crime, he had since recovered. He tried to convince hospital staff of his health, attempted to escape, and took the hospital to court--all to no avail. Brottman, who met Bechtold while teaching a Focus on Fiction class at Perkins, is clearly on his side. The author's meticulous research is evident throughout, and she mostly handles the information deftly, making for a smooth narrative populated by a variety of colorful characters. Her lack of objectivity is the book's major flaw, and it leads to statements like the following, which describes Bechtold's reluctance to take increased doses of medication: "He'd done perfectly well on the low dose and felt mentally stable." Perfectly well according to whom? Bechtold has an obvious stake in maintaining his own sanity. The doctors at Perkins claimed that Bechtold was paranoid, and while Brottman shows effectively that forced hospitalization could make anyone seem paranoid, she fails to prove that, in this case, both could have been true at the same time. A quick and intriguing read marred by a lack of objectivity.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.