Mum of mentally-ill Stoke Newington man makes film about son’s jail plight

A mother, who made a movie in an attempt to raise publicity about her mentally-ill son who is serving an “indefinite” legal sentence, celebrated the film’s premiere last week.

Linda Morgan’s son Joe Paraskeva, 21, of Stoke Newington, was given an “indefinite” jail term in 2010 after he set fire to a door in a psychiatric unit.

But Ms Morgan argued Joe, who suffers from bipolar disorder, should be treated as a patient rather than locked up in jail, and he is now being cared for at Homerton Hospital.

She hopes the family’s new legal team will successfully appeal against his indefinite sentence, which she says amounts to “torture”.

The 57-year-old set up the Justice for Joe campaign shortly after her son’s incarceration and made a short film about his plight earlier this year as part of a Hackney Council-funded film-making course available for carers in the borough.

Her three-minute film premiered at the Hackney Picture House, in Mare Street, last Thursday (March 29) along with the other movies made by the course’s participants, and a documentary called ‘Hackney Carers Speak Out!’

She told the Gazette: “It went terribly well and was very well received, but it was quite emotional seeing it on the big screen.

“Several people said to me that it should be shown nationally.”

Ms Morgan plans to make her film available on her campaign website, www.justiceforjoe.org.uk.