Nevada judge: Mental illness at the root of mass killings
By Sean Whaley, Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY –- Nevada Supreme Court Justice James Hardesty said Monday that the country will not have success in reducing the tragic type of shooting incident that occurred Friday in Connecticut without providing more mental health support.
Hardesty, interviewed on the “Nevada NewsMakers” television program, said “we’re going backward” on mental health treatment needs nationally and in Nevada.
“It’s high time the country does something about these matters,” he said. “And from the perspective of a judge who has worked hard to, and the judiciary as a whole, worked hard to promote mental health court as an example, we cannot achieve any success in any of these areas if we do not recognize the importance of being proactive in dealing with mental health issues in this country and in this state.
“And yet we’re going backward,” Hardesty said. “And I hope that these very sad incidents demonstrate the need to revisit these subjects.”
The National Alliance on Mental Illness, in a report released in November 2011, said there is a national crisis in helping people with serious mental illness due to deep cuts in state spending for mental health services.
“States such as California, Illinois, Nevada and South Carolina, which made devastating cuts to mental health services previously, have made further cuts for fiscal year 2012, putting tens of thousands of citizens at great risk,” the report said.
The NAMI report said states have cut more than $1.6 billion in general funds from their state mental health agency budgets since 2009 while at the same time demand increased significantly.
The state Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services has more than $7 million in general funding spending requests in the state budget “wish list” document released to the public on Friday. Many of the $419 million in total state agency general fund requests included on the list are not expected to see funding due to a lack of tax revenue.
One of the mental health requests is for nearly $200,000 for a clinical program manager and training for a new program to provide a continuum of care for clients reentering the community when being released from jails, prisons and forensic hospitals.
In his “NewsMakers” comments, Hardesty said the Second Amendment and gun control debate is a separate issue.
But the perpetrators of many of these terrible incidents are afflicted with serious mental health issues that require a proactive society, he said. Families who struggle with family members who suffer from such illnesses need help and support, Hardesty said.
Nevadans don’t have to look to Connecticut to see the problem, he said, citing the Carson City incident in September 2011 where a man armed with an AK-47 assault rifle shot five uniformed National Guard members eating breakfast at a restaurant, killing three and another person before shooting himself.
The shooter, Eduardo Sencion of Carson City, suffered from mental health issues and was on medication. He left no note or explanation for the shootings.
“So I hope that it causes us, as a society, to look at what will help be proactive and achieve some significant changes in those areas,” Hardesty said.
On a positive note, he pointed to the successes of the state’s mental health courts, where the focus is on diverting non-violent offenders with mental illness into treatment programs. The goal is to reduce or eliminate offender recidivism by treating their mental illness.
“And the more we can do to be proactive to support programs like that, the more we’ll do to reduce the risks to our society caused by the Sandy Hook Elementary event,” Hardesty said.
Isn’t it common sense that if a member of a household is mentally ill, that you just don’t keep guns in the house? I would think that responsibility starts with us as individuals. Unfortunately common sense is often over ruled by other misguided rationale. So how does society protect itself from stupidity? Will gun control actually make us safer? Will taxpayers pay for more school security? Or should we just go back to the wild west and strap guns to our waist as part of our wardrobe?
WHEN PEOPLE SIT IN THE SAME ROOM ,CAN’T TALK EACK OTHER, BUT TEXT EACH OTHER, YOU SHOULD KNOW SOMETHING NOT RIGHT IN OUR NEW SOCIETY.
Jim, it didn’t work with the family of the guy who shot up the IHOP in Carson City last year.
He was mentally ill, supposed to be on meds, and yet, his family gave him the guns that he took and shot a group of National Guardsmen. Who were, inspite of being in uniformed, forbidden to be armed themselves, so unable to protect themselves.
You’ll always have crazy people who can get guns. You need responsible people to be able to defend against them.
This judge should be impreached. If you don’t follow a certain prescribed behavior you are not nescessarily nuts.
The mental midgets who see big money on this tragedy should be ashamed of themselves. Cancer should be destroyed not coddled.
There is a huge difference between the rights of an individual, and the rights of the larger group, many of whom cannot defend themselves, for a variety of reasons.
I do not want to tote a gun whenever I leave my house, just in case I run into a person who lacks the mental capacity to use guns wisely. After all, he may have more weapons than I do. And, what if,in drawing my gun, he were to see it and shoot an innocent bystander?
To all of you who want to arm yourselves, go get the appropriate training, and remember that you are responsible if other people have access to your guns. Lack of responsibility and the unwillingness to see consequences, is part of the problem.
There are people such as the shooter in Connecticut who need to be locked up, for their own safety as well as for the safety of all of US. Mental health, and the lack of assistance for those who are dangerous, is part of the problem.
I may live in Nevada, perhaps part of the old wild west, but do we want to go back to the gunslinger days again? I think not. Responsible ownership of guns is part of the problem, of course.
The shooters mother should have spent less time in bars and at the shooting range. She paid the ultimate price for her errors, and I hate to judge without knowing the full story, but it’s pretty clear that innocent children paid the price along with the parents. The inability to see the problems of those who are closest to you is part of the problem.
Let us pray that all of us will consider whether or not we are part of the problem, or part of the SOLUTION.
JAMGB
This Judge is on the right tract.
Many who are mentally ill cannot get help,medication, or have access to councellors that are so desparately needed….
Police hands are tied UNTILL they hurt themselves or someone else..what good is that after the fact??
Prevention is the answer, along with recalling all the (WAR GUNS AND AMMUNITION) to the private individual an
make sure their other gun collection is under lock and key.
ALL SHOULD HAVE TO REGISTER AND HAVE A BACKGROUND CHECK OF THE FAMILY ALSO.
The Judge has a good point about the school massacres being a symptom of untreated mental problems? With the cuts to Social Services, we can expect more deviant behavior from people with mental issues. There are people in South Lake Tahoe, California with mental issues who need help from Social Services with mediations and counseling.
Five years ago the El Dorado County Mental Health Dept. had enough funding to meet the needs of our people with mental issues. This funding has been cut severely. In the first three years of these cuts, six Mental Health clients in South Lake Tahoe died from accidental overdoses and other factors directly related to funding cuts. Dianna Hankins knows all the specifics on this issue. She is our volunteer with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness.