Is there a serious and avoidable problem with Idaho's mental health system? I am seeing some troubling signs that deficiencies in how we deal with the mentally ill are impairing public safety. This letter will give a series of recent incidents that at least suggest that the legislature has a duty to ask some questions.
The most visible example involves Jason Hamilton, the recent sniper in Moscow. He had a history of violence, and after a suicide attempt, was ordered to submit to a psychological examination--at which time he told the psychiatrist, that the next time, "he would try to take a large number of people with him." Three months later, that's exactly what he did, killing three people and himself.[1]
I've tried to understand why Hamilton wasn’t hospitalized for mental illness. It doesn't seem to be a deficiency of our laws. As I read Idaho Code 66-322, Hamilton was clearly someone who needed to be hospitalized. So why wasn't he? Was it lack of space? Did the psychiatrist not believe that Hamilton seriously intended mass murder? Did he not realize that Hamilton had a history of violence? Was the psychiatrist afraid of being sued if he recommended that Hamilton be hospitalized?
If the problem was just the short, unhappy life of Jason Hamilton, perhaps we could just write it off as one individual tragedy. But there are plenty of other worrisome examples that suggest that something isn’t working here.
John Joseph Delling is being held on two murder charges, among many other crimes. There are some indications that Delling's problems involve mental illness. News accounts suggest that Delling's conviction at 17 of a crime of violence was because of mental illness. "The victim requested that Delling be given a mental evaluation, but it's not clear whether an evaluation took place."[2] More recently, family members recognized that his behavior suggested mental illness, and took away and sold his guns.[3]
There are plenty of other examples, such as Brent Eugene High of Nampa, who was arrested back in January after allegedly murdering two housemates with an ax. He told police that he did it, and his remarks and actions suggest schizophrenia. His attorney is arguing mental defect.[4]
This isn't just an Idaho problem, of course. America has had a lot of recent incidents where people with significant mental illness problems have become headlines by committing or attempting murder--and very often, there was plenty of advance warning, with previous hospitalizations and indications that they were psychotic and dangerous.[5]
This problem is gaining national prominence—at least partly because of the Virginia Tech murders a few months ago. The New York Times wrote about "spree killers" several years back, and also noticed that much of the problem is associated with mental illness.[6] Professor Bernard Harcourt of the University of Chicago Law School has recently pointed to a statistically significant relationship between the mental hospital institutionalization and prison population rates and murder rates from 1928 through 2000.[7]
Not every mentally ill person is a danger to others, of course. Many are completely harmless to others—but dangerous to themselves. It is heartbreaking to read news accounts from Oregon of mentally ill people who have starved themselves to death, while family, friends, and police looked on helplessly.[8]
To a large extent, the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1960s and 1970s is to blame. Isn’t it time for our legislature to start asking some questions about this? There’s no question that some of the changes that Idaho might have to make are going to cost some money. But I find myself wondering if it is really that much more expensive to provide sufficient care for the mentally ill before they become tragic headlines. Murder trials, cleaning up crime scenes, psychiatric evaluations to determine competency to stand trial--these aren't cheap, either. And while hospitalizing a mentally ill person for many years (as some may need to be) is expensive--so is life in prison for murder.
Dealing with homelessness isn't cheap either, and this is at least partly a consequence of the deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill. The January 2006 unsheltered homeless survey for Idaho showed that 5.1% of the homeless by their own answer were seriously mental ill, 14.3% described themselves as "disabled" but would not identify in what way, and 10.1% were homeless because of substance abuse (with which mental illness is often masked).[9]
I look forward to hearing from you that the legislature is prepared to start asking questions. As you might gather from this letter, I have been researching the subject for several years now, and I would be happy to provide assistance to legislative staff in looking into what actions, if any, the legislature might need to take for the benefit of Idahoans.
[1] Associated Press, “Moscow gunman's suicidal admission,” KTVB, May 22, 2007, last accessed August 16, 2007.
[2] Associated Press, “Man accused of shooting 3 during cross-country road trip; high school link probed,” USA Today, April 10, 2007, last accessed August 16, 2007.
[3] Rebecca Boone, Associated Press, “Classmate slaying suspect called erratic,” Boston Globe, April 11, 2007, last accessed August 16, 2007.
[4] Kaycee Murray, “Both Nampa murder victims identified,” KTVB, January 29, 2007, , last accessed August 16, 2007; Heath Druzin, “High pleads not guilty in double murder,” Idaho Statesman, June 23, 2007.
[5] “Slaughter in a School Yard,” Time, January 30, 1989, 29; AP, “Police Still Unraveling Trail Left by Woman in Rampage,” New York Times, May 22, 1988, last accessed April 24, 2007; Jaxon Van Derbeken, Bill Wallace, and Stacy Finz, “L.A. Suspect Dreamed of Killing: History of erratic behavior, ties to neo-Nazi group,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 12, 1999, A1, , last accessed April 29, 2007; Jim Yardley, “DEATHS IN A CHURCH: THE OVERVIEW; An Angry Mystery Man Who Brought Death,” New York Times, September 17, 1999, last accessed April 29, 2007; “Tapes, letters reveal gunman's chilling actions, thoughts,” CNN, September 17, 1999, last accessed April 29, 2007; Bill Miller, “Capitol Shooter's Mind-Set Detailed,” Washington Post, April 23, 1999, last accessed April 24, 2007; Martin Kasindorf, “Woman kills 5, self at postal plant,” USA Today, February 1, 2006, last accessed April 24, 2007; Jim Maniaci, “'Crazy as a loon',” Gallup [N.M.] Independent, February 2, 2006, last accessed April 24, 2007; “Close the loophole Cho sneaked through ,” Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot, April 25, 2007, last accessed April 25, 2007; Dr. Michael Welner, “Cho Likely Schizophrenic, Evidence Suggests,” ABC News, April 17, 2007, last accessed April 24, 2007; UPI, “AROUND THE NATION; Courtroom Gunman Is Freed in Bail,” New York Times, April 13, 1986, last accessed April 24, 2007; Jeremy Hay, “Son held in slaying of mother in RP,” Santa Rosa (Cal.) Press-Democrat, April 19, 2007, last accessed April 24, 2007; Jaxon Van Debeken, “Slasher Suspect Had Violated His Previous Probation: Authorities lost track of case,” San Francisco Chronicle, November 13, 1998, last accessed April 24, 2007; Michael A. Fuoco, “Baumhammers' attorney to argue mental infirmity,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 1, 2000, last accessed April 24, 2007; Jim McKinnon, “Baumhammers' father protests death penalty,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, November 10, 2001, last accessed April 24, 2007; Frank Trippett, “The Madman on the Ferry,” Time, July 21, 1986, last accessed May 13, 2007; Jim O'Grady, “Officials Decide to Release Man Who Killed 2 With Sword,” New York Times, March 26, 2000, , last accessed May 13, 2007; Susan Kuczka, “As teen heals, issues about attacker linger,” Chicago Tribune, August 28, 2007, last accessed September 9, 2007; Steven Gurr, “Man shot during confrontation: Officials say man had mental history, made threatening gestures,” Gainesville [Florida] Times, September 7, 2007, last accessed September 9, 2007.
[6] Laurie Goodstein and William Glaberson, “The Well-Marked Roads to Homicidal Rage,” New York Times, April 10, 2000.
[7] Bernard E. Harcourt, “From the Asylum to the Prison: Rethinking the Incarceration Revolution,” Texas Law Review, 84[2006]:1766-75.
[8] Michelle Roberts, “Free to Die,” Portland Oregonian, December 30, 2002, last accessed May 7, 2007.
[9] Idaho Homeless Policy Council, Idaho’s Action Plan to Reduce Homelessness, last accessed August 17, 2007.
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