Psychiatrist says Miller no threat; judge sends her home

Cheryl Miller (with bouquet) with members of her family (Express photo)

A psychiatric report presented in a Port of Spain court on Thursday stated that Cheryl Miller does not pose a danger to herself or to members of the public.

Dr Gerard Hutchinson prepared the report on Miller after Justice Vasheist Kokaram ruled last week that Miller should be released from the St Ann's hospital pending a medical evaluation.

Kokaram decided to send Miller home. He will hear the habeas corpus matter on May 3. The judge asked attorneys representing Miller and the hospital’s chief medical officer, Dr Ian Hypolite, not to reveal the exact details contained in the report.

Miller attended court in the company of her sister. The president of the Public Services Association (PSA) president, Watson Duke, and several other members of the association’s executive, also attendd court. The PSA helped Miller’s family to get legal representation.

Miller’s attorney Stanley Marcus told the judge Miller has been a public servant for the past 24 years during which time there had been no concerns about her mental health.

Hypolite’s attorney, Russell Martineau, argued that it was his client’s view that Miller should be continuously assessed by a psychiatrist. Martineau called Hutchinson’s report “narrow” and “cross-sectional.”

He added, “I am no medical practitioner, but it is common sense that after receiving two weeks of treatment at the institution, her condition may have improved.”

The judge ordered the hospital staff to give Hutchinson all files and records that were compiled by doctors during the two-week that Miller stated at the hospital in order for the doctor to complete a comprehensive evaluation.