By Robert Weiner and Kat Smith
Article originally published in The Palm Beach Post
Victims of Parkland shooting remembered
(Image by YouTube, Channel: WPTV News - FL Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast) Details DMCADespite the fact that most mass shootings are carried out by people without a diagnosed mental illness, it is still commonly used as a defense for these deadly massacres.
Not only is it a misconception that mental health is a primary factor in most of these violent crimes, but these claims demonize the 57.8 million Americans who suffer from one or more mental illnesses.
A prime example is the convicted murderer (Nikolas Cruz_- use name if desired or not), who shot and killed seventeen people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in 2018. According to a report by CNN, he will not be subjected to the death penalty due to his defense painting him as mentally disturbed, despite mental health experts who evaluated him that testified that this was not the case.
Dr. Robert Denney, a clinical psychologist, testified, "He is grossly exaggerating severe mental illness," he continued to say " [he was] grossly exaggerating severe psychiatric problems as well as semantic concerns, body concerns, cognitive concerns and memory complaints."
However, according to CNN, Melisa McNeill, Cruz's public defender, continued to argue that he was not in the mental capacity to receive the death penalty. "And in a civilized humane society, do we kill brain damaged, mentally ill, broken people?" McNeill said. "Do we? I hope not."
Following the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Parkland came together as a community to create the national March for Our Lives movement in order to speak out against the gun violence epidemic across the United States. They have made an enormous difference on both a state and national level.
According to a study conducted at Columbia University, only 8% of mass shootings are committed by people diagnosed with severe mental illnesses involving psychosis. Mass murderers with psychotic symptoms are actually less likely to use a firearm to carry out the offense, yet mental health continues to be entered into the discussion every time a mass shooting occurs. It is a popular belief that someone who commits a crime so heinous must be mentally disturbed in some way.
Many political leaders share this sentiment such as Texas Governor Greg Abbot t, who following the Uvalde school shooting said, "We, as a state, we, as a society, need to do a better job with mental health " Anybody who shoots somebody else has a mental health challenge, period."
It's true that there need to be better mental health resources and accessibility in the U.S., but it seems that this issue is only ever brought up as a response to gun violence instead of the actual problem at hand: a lack of gun regulation.
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