For example, in May and June 2006, the DC Metro area witnessed some graphic illustrations of the devastating consequences of a tattered mental health treatment system: a young man threatened police in Maryland and was shot and killed, a mother was killed by her own son, a family’s frantic search for their daughter ended when her murdered body is found, two police officers died in a shootout in Virginia, a young man was sentenced to jail for beheading his aunt.
Washington Post, June 4, 2006
Columnist Marc Fisher |
The Bind Forced on Parents of the Mentally Ill “”Sometimes the parent’s care for the child, even an adult child, is all that is preventing the child from falling below the line where he can be committed … So there are cases where [he] recommend[s] to the parent to leave the house. Go away and see what happens. Prove that the child is incapable of caring for himself. Maybe the child will commit a crime. Often there’s no other way to get the evidence necessary for commitment. It’s all rather sad, for everyone involved.” |
Washington Post, May 29, 2006
Investigative Reporter Tom Jackman
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Rules Separate Mentally Ill From Treatment “When I first started,” Fairfax Sheriff Stan G. Barry said, “it was very, very rare that someone who was clearly mentally ill ended up in jail. Over the years, I’ve watched that change drastically. Now, people with mental illness get routed through the jail quite frequently. It’s a game of hot potato. Nobody wants to deal with the problem.”
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Washington Post, May 18, 2006
Editorial Board |
Editorial: Another Needless Death. “Around the country, an odd coalition of civil libertarians touting the rights of the mentally ill and budget hawks eager to cut services has created a situation in which people who need help yet are in no position to make informed decisions for themselves don’t get help. Then they commit crimes. The concern for their rights, in practice, represents a cruel kind of joke: a right to exist in a delusional state and then get prosecuted severely for the damage. The cost savings are mythical, too. Society pays in so many ways for failing to take the problem of mental illness seriously. One of those ways is tragic killings, like those of Detective Armel and Officer Garbarino.”
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Washington Post, May 21, 2006
Opinion Writer Mary Zdanowicz |
Dealing With the Dangerously Ill. “Waiting for someone to become dangerous is a prescription for tragedy. Worse, it is bad public policy based on emotion, not data. Not all people with mental illnesses are dangerous; in fact, most aren’t. But some people with severe mental illnesses can be dangerous, particularly if they are not taking their medication. A recently published national study documented that schizophrenia patients with specific symptoms – paranoid delusions, hallucinations, grandiosity, etc. – were at least three times more likely to be violent than other schizophrenics.”
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Washington Post, May 21, 2006
Opinion Writer Ted Lutz |
DC Falls Short on Money and Management “But if a society is measured by how well it treats its most vulnerable citizens, the plight of the mentally ill in our nation’s capital deserves no less than our full attention and best efforts.”
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Washington Post, May 12, 2006
Opinion Writer Pete Earley |
Washington Post Opinion Piece: Thank You, Detective. [May 12] “Fairfax County Police Detective Vicky O. Armel, who was murdered Monday during a shooting rampage by a troubled teenager, had helped people with severe mental illnesses. I know because she helped my son.” |
