Would it be safe to say that anyone who murders someone, commits a heinous act or is considered 'evil' suffers from some sort of mental illness of varying degree.......?
I can never correlate the difference.
I always find it interesting however the different reactions of when a filicide is committed.Take for instance the Port Lincoln murder/suicide. The Dad that killed his 2 children. The social media and msm commentary on that as per my observations seemed to consist mainly of empathy towards the Father with calls for better metal health services even though it was acknowledged by the family that he had been encouraged to seek some help but refused. He was heralded as a 'good bloke' and many other wonderful things. From what I read most people were sympathetic towards him. I wonder if this is because he killed himself too?
Father's generally kill their children as an act of violence towards the mother and is about control and revenge, for Mother's it seems to be more about feelings of hopelessness and a perceived lack of support however that is mainly in the context of filicide/suicide.
Anyway just my observations and thoughts.
Here is a link to a very good study on filicide in the context of separation.
http://www.dvrcv.org.au/sites/default/files/‘Just Say Goodbye’ (January 2013 online edition).pdf
Thank you for the link, very interesting and unfortunately, disturbing too.
In the case of the Port Lincoln murder/suicide, there was a lot more sympathy for the father than I've ever seen before after similar tragedies, but I think this was due to his wife, who did not condemn him, at least not publicly. How can the public say otherwise when she declared he loved his children and he had suffered for quite some time from a mental illness? Usually such sentiments of the parents love and good character are saved for mothers who kill their child/ren. It's hard not to condemn though, because intentionally taking a life is a deplorable act, a million times more so when it's your own child. It becomes more complex when mental illness is involved.
After Geoff Hunt killed his wife, children and then himself, he was vilified by the public. In an ABC interview with Kim Hunt's sister, she gave a surprise response about her sister's death, that her sister was a different person after her accident and that Geoff just couldn't take it anymore. She seemed perfectly resigned to the fact that Geoff was deeply depressed and did it out of love and frustration. The coroner's court findings was that Kim changed dramatically after her accident and was verbally abusive towards Geoff.
Actually, I don't really know what point I'm trying to make here, it's such difficult ground. Maybe, I'll give this explanation a go.
We've made great strides in diagnosing and prescribing medications for mental illness and generally a better understanding of mental heath by education and literature etc. But we failed with the closure of mental facilities imo, for patients that need long term care. There were so many tragedies that could have been avoided if the perpetrator was hospitalized BEFORE killing a family member. Wives, husbands, parents have struggled alone with their partner/child who is clearly out of control and dangerous.
Many of these killers have expressed multiple times a wish to kill their loved ones or even a stranger. Their mental health professional ups their dosage which isn't guaranteed the patient is even taking to start with, or their therapist notes it down and tries to persuade them to think differently! Honestly, this isn't good enough. These patients need to be hospitalized for their own safety and for the safety of others before they carry out their awful plan. Sometimes they may need to be in care for years, but this isn't available anymore, mental health facilities closed down and the ones still open take in short term or outpatients only. The funding just isn't there anymore and also mental 'institutions' had a bad reputation for various reasons, some justified.
Of course, there needs to be monitoring of the facilities, this includes not only patients but staff and mental health professionals. This costs money which our society doesn't deem as important enough to give. As a result, people are dying at the hands of someone with a mental illness which could have been prevented.
This is one such tragedy that would never have happened if the father was institutionalized. It has stuck in my mind since it happened.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...fore-girls-death/story-e6freoof-1111115236987
Sorry for going on, it's something that has been bothering me for years. :blushing: