[StBernard] Justice Unserved

[Westley Annis]

Laurie,

Being mentally ill is quite different from being mad.

Maybe my history is a little fuzzy, but wasn't it liberals that said we
should close the mental institutions and let those the mentally ill out to
mingle with the rest of society? Who cares if they were a danger to
themselves or others, they had rights, after all. 

Did the family agree with this decision because they think it is the right
thing or because they did not want to go through the emotions of a capital
murder trial?

I'm just very skeptical of social workers and psychologists. Until we can
truly read minds on the level of a "Vulcan mind meld", I don't think we can
ever know what someone else is truly thinking. So I am also very skeptical
of the insanity plea.

Westley

-----Original Message-----
Westley,
 
I agree with the death penalty.  But in this case, or cases where people are
really and genuinely mentally ill, it gets of fuzzy for me.  I am torn with
this case because I think this man did this because he was mad and angry
with his parents.  I think it is the best our society can offer.  Do we kill
people with Down's syndrome or mentally retarded people if they do something
wrong?  What about some other mental defect that the person really cannot
control?  I'm talking about real and true mental illness.  Not some
loophole. The families agreed to the sentence and that is important.  They
should have a say.  My views used to be as yours are.  They have changed a
bit now.  Maybe it is because my son is in the mental health field and he
deals with a lot of crazies on a regular basis.  I don't know how he does it
to tell the truth.  It is a very sad and depressing job, a thankless job
because these people are so nuts. I worry about him because he has gotten
death threats from these very same people he is trying to help. But really
they can never be helped, just controlled or put away.  I think the hair
would raise on the back of most people's neck if they knew how many really
crazy people are out there.  By the way, the facility he works in is in
Lafayette.  He's thinking of coming back home soon because there is more of
a need in the New Orleans area for mental health providers.  I think my son
has taught me more compassion after hearing some of the heartbreaking
stories he tells me.  Like the sweet old woman that hears voices, everyday
of her life, telling her to kill herself.  She says they never go away, she
hears them day and night.  She says they are evil and she has learned to
ignore them. I could to on and on.  I guess my son has taught me great
compassion that I didn't know I had and I didn't know that he had.  It is
not fair that these children's taxes will have to pay to take care of this
man that killed their father.  Life is not fair and this situation can never
be made right.      
 
Laurie