Five More Homeless Murdered in California Sunday - Several Mental Patients

by duo | November 7, 2008 at 03:48 pm

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Homeless Psychiatric Patients Are Being Murdered in California - Five Deaths Sunday

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HOMELESS psychiatric patients are being murdered in California. Sunday, November 2, five homeless people were found shot to death in Long Beach, at least three of whom were mental patients. Last month an elderly Los Angeles homeless man, Robert McGraham, was burned to death by parties unknown who threw a canister with gasoline on him from a car, and followed it with a match.

Below is a report on this hate crime against the mentally ill and homeless by Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC) and information on Laura's Law Now, which TAC believes would help to reduce the violence.

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Treatment Advocacy Center
www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org

HOMELESS TRAGEDIES POINT TO CHANGE

Five people were found shot to death early Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008, in a makeshift homeless encampment covered by thick brush near the 405 Freeway in Long Beach, Calif., police said. Unconfirmed reports indicate that several of the victims suffered from severe mental illness.

The crime upset neighbors and puzzled police, who had no suspects and struggled to comb the rugged terrain surrounding the crime scene near the freeway's intersection with the 710 Freeway.

The incident follows the October death of another California homeless man, John Robert McGraham. McGraham was living on the street for six years, despite attempts by family members to get him treatment for his mental illness. McGraham was doused with gasoline and sent to a fiery death by a still unknown attacker. The incidents are focusing attention of the problems of both homelessness and mental illness in southern California.

The two attacks illustrate what statistics show, that people living with a mental illness are more likely than others to become victims. Victimization is a serious consequence of failing to treat mental illness.

The fact that people do not choose to be victims was pointed out by McGraham's sister after his death.

"I wish people better understood the mental turmoil a human being can go through that puts and keeps them in such a place that they can't seem to get out," Susan McGraham-Paisley wrote. Our family has tried for many, many years to help him but it seemed beyond our reach." McGraham-Paisley and other family members no longer live in the Los Angeles area, but still would visit John Robert and kept trying to get him helped he was unaware he needed.

"I hope the horrific crime against our brother will make people realize that homeless people are human, they do have family, they are cared for. Several people, when they had learned my brother was homeless for more than two decades would say, 'He chooses to live this way," a statement she takes strong issue with.

"I find that comment so offensive and so lacking compassion. Some might say we all choose to be where we are, but we don't all start on an even playing field, and we aren't all dealt the same cards. My brother didn't consciously choose to live out on the streets, he just didn't seem to know what to do with himself," she said. "Families of homeless are often helpless to make diagnoses, correct problems without intervention. Both my sister and my ex-husband contacted various agencies, but never with any success."

Putting in place assisted outpatient treatment may have helped the McGraham family save their brother. California has the ability to implement Laura's Law Now in each county.

Increased Awareness Needed

These two horrific tragedies did raise awareness about the problem. More needs to be done. You can help raise awareness too. Email ten friends and families members and let them know your concern.

It's easy just click here.

Treatment Advocacy Center
200 N. Glebe Road, Suite 730, Arlington, VA 22203
703 294 6001/6002 (phone) | 703 294 6010 (fax) |
www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org
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See an article about Mr. Graham's murder and his community's response to his death here:

MORE HATE CRIMES - CRUELTY TO MENTALLY DISABLED PERSONS
http://my.nowpublic.com/health/more-hate-crimes-cruelty-mentally-disabled-persons

GOV. SCHWARZENEGGER'S MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS
http://my.nowpublic.com/health/gov-schwarzeneggers-mental-health-crisis

Find more NowPublic.com articles regarding America's mentally ill citizens and other social issues at this link:
http://my.nowpublic.com/search?fulltext=1&type=story&keys=mary+neal

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Mary Neal
Website: http://wrongfuldeathoflarryneal.com

Author's Page http://www.care2.com/c2c/people/profile.html?pid=513396753

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. ~ Matthew 25:40

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Jennings David L

at 16:34 on November 7th, 2008

This is so sad, that people would hurt anyone, let alone defenseless and homeless people. Good reporting.

duo

at 16:47 on November 7th, 2008

Thank you, David. Mental patients and homeless people have a rough time. I report it and pray that someone with power and authority will help. This needs to CHANGE!

Mary

duo

at 19:08 on November 7th, 2008

ANYONE NEED THIS INFORMATION?

California Governor's Office:

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-445-2841
Fax: 916-558-3160 ( new number )
Form for email - http://gov.ca.gov/interact

panzerlawyer

at 23:17 on November 7th, 2008

I like this story its good stuff

duo

at 23:48 on November 7th, 2008

Thank you. I hope these stories help to change things for mental patients and their families who love them. In the case of homeless mental patients, their families may not even know where they are. I read a touching story about a homeless man whose family knew he was in New Orleans during Katrina, and they set out after the flood to search for him, hoping that somehow he survived.

Everyone is someone's sister, brother, son, daughter, father, mother, or friend. Moreover, we are all created by God, who is Holy. One day He will deal with the abusers. In the meanwhile, we are to love ye one another as He loves us.

Mary

mabone

at 23:25 on November 7th, 2008

I know first hand the horrors of being homeless and sick. I run a shelter with 30 beds and lives have been saved, but some fall victim to despair. Thank you for this article about a part of humanity that needs our compassion and support. Well done

duo

at 23:54 on November 7th, 2008

Thank you, Mabone. We should take a lesson from The Great Depression and recognize we are all just one blessing away from homelessness, no matter how wealthy we are.

Everything about human life is fragile: our health, our finances, our faith and hope in the future. We should be cognizant of the fact that we all face disabilities in life if we live long enough.

Mental patients are the only citizens regularly killed and imprisoned for reason of a health condition. Let us come out of the 14th Century! Mental illness is treatable.

I appreciate your comments.

Mary

Sanku (not verified)

at 01:35 on November 8th, 2008

How was that killing a mentally retarded person? Inhuman activities will ruin the civilizations. Just throwing gasoline and followed it with a match was that easy to kill a person like us? Mental patients should be regarded as Gods, they don't knew what they were doing. Should be condemned by one and all. And police should act quickly and brought the killers before justice.

duo

at 12:35 on November 8th, 2008

WHAT HAPPENED TO ALL OF OUR MENTAL HOSPITALS?

WHAT HAPPENED TO COMMUNITY CARE?

WHY IS IT SO HARD FOR FAMILIES OF ACUTE MENTAL PATIENTS TO GET THEM TREATED BEFORE THERE IS SOME TRAGEDY TO PROVE THEY ARE A DANGER TO SELF AND OTHERS?

WHY MUST WE WAIT UNTIL THERE ARE DRIPPING KNIVES OR SMOKING GUNS TO HELP MENTAL PATIENTS IN CRISIS?

WHY ISN'T TREATMENT AVAILABLE ALL OVER AMERICA FOR MENTAL ILLNESS, WHEN ONE IN FIVE AMERICANS SUFFERS FROM SOME TYPE OF MENTAL ILLNESS?

WHY ARE 1.25 MILLION MENTAL PATIENTS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PRISONS INSTEAD OF HOSPITALS OR COMMUNITY CARE?

WHEN DID MENTAL PATIENTS LOSE THEIR CIVIL RIGHTS?

HOW MANY PRISONERS UNDERSTOOD THEIR MIRANDA RIGHTS OR WERE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THEIR OWN DEFENSE AGAINST CRIMINAL CHARGES?

WHY ARE WE TASERING MENTAL PATIENTS, KILLING THEM IN RESTRAINT CHAIRS, CONDEMNING THEM TO LIVE FOR UP TO NINE MONTHS NAKED IN FILTH IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, KILLING THEM ON RESTRAINT TABLES, GASSING THEM, SHOOTING THEM LIKE RABID DOGS IN THE STREET?

WHEN DID AMERICA GET SO MEAN?

Sputnic

at 03:41 on November 8th, 2008

Good stuff duo. I used to be homeless myself and the variety of people I met who were also homeless; from ex army to former solicitor (lawyer) women fleeing domestic violence. A teenage girl fleeing an abusive homelife and also ex prisoners. To burn or shoot a fellow human being that has probably had more hardship in one year than most people have within an entire lifetime

duo

at 12:38 on November 8th, 2008

Bipolar Disorder? Schizophrenia? Manic Depression? Alzheimer's? Dementia? PTSD? Post Partum Depression? Autism? See who else has/had mental disorders:

Buzz Aldrin (astronaut) · Adam Ant (musician) · Ludwig van Beethoven (composer) · Napoleon Bonaparte (political leader) · Tim Burton (artist, director) · Lord Byron (poet) · Dick Cavett (television journalist) · Winston Churchill (politician) · Charles Dickens (author) · DMX, Dark Man X (Earl Simmons) (musician, actor) · Robert Downey Jr. (actor) · Richardy Dreyfuss (actor) · Patty Duke (actress) · Ralph Waldo Emerson (author) · Carrie Fisher (Actress, writer) · Larry Flynt (publisher, activist) · Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (Writer) · Connie Francis (singer) · Stephen Fry (actor, comedian writer) · Peter Gabriel (musician) · Alan Garner (novelist) · Matthew Good (musician) · Philip Graham (publisher, businessman) · Macy Gray (musician, actor) · Graham Greene (English Novelist) · Ivor Gurney (English composer, poet)· Sean LeVert (singer) · Patrick Kennedy (Congressman) · Elvis Presley (singer, actor) · Britney Speers (singer) · Somebody you love

Jenny Dooley (not verified)

at 09:46 on November 8th, 2008

Such sad news! Shocking and frightening!

I've passed the news along to other outlets too.

duo

at 12:47 on November 8th, 2008

Just what is planned for the beautiful young men and women America sent to Iraqi deserts? Many are expected to transition home soon, and some will be suffering with grave pyschological disorders due to PTSD. Some were brain damaged when shells penetrated their skulls. What do we have waiting for them?

A nice cardboard box in an alley somewhere?

A prison cell living in their own filth in solitary confinement with prison guards equipped with Taser weapons and gas to keep them in line?

Murder by street hoodlums who prey on the homeless?

We need to CHANGE!

Ola Cooney (not verified)

at 14:50 on November 9th, 2008

I have several family members who are mentally ill and I myself have been homeless at one time in my life. Trust me, no one wants to be mentally ill or homeless. No one deserves to be. When I was six or seven years old, then Governor Ronald Reagan closed most of the mental hospitals in California including the one my father was in. It was a mixed blessing. My father still suffers from schizophrenia and he has to deal with the scars on his brain from the electric shock therepy he was given. (Later, CA outlawed the practice.) Most of the homeless in Southern CA , that I am aware of are mentally ill. A sad legacy leftover from Ronald Reagan. The laws need to be changed so there is somewhere for the mentally ill to go to and certain tragedy can be averted.

duo

at 22:47 on November 9th, 2008

As long as our most vulnerable citizens are used as commodies to benefit those who PROFIT from incarcerating 2.3 million Americans, including 1.25 million mental patients, the mentally ill will continue to suffer homelessness, prison, and death. Our mentally ill citizens are left on the street with taxpayers being told there is no money to house them and give them treatment and care. However, USDC Judge Henderson just decreed that California must spend $8 BILLION to build, equip, and staff seven PRISON hospitals and an additional $2.3 BILLION per year to operate in order to warehouse our sick citizens in jail, although it is much less expensive to give them treatment and care outside of prison - in mental hospitals, or in community care if they did no violent crimes.

Prison profiteers earn money when the mentally ill are left on the street, Ola. Sick people can then be arrested for vagrancy, disturbing the peace, and other petty offenses, and California taxpayers are expected to fork over $230,000 annually to imprison each individual sick inmate. How much less money do you think it would cost taxpayers for each non-violent mental patient to be allowed to rejoin their communities with basic subsistence (housing and food) and psychiatric care? Most American families of four don't have $230k income to live on in five years!

It is not a matter of there not being money to care for our mentally ill citizens, but rather, it is a matter of how the money is being used and who is profiting.

See: Is America's Prison System Legalized Slavery?
http://my.nowpublic.com/health/americas-prison-system-legalized-slavery#comment-231909

Thanks so much for your comments and sharing the information on your family. You are right about things needing to CHANGE!

Mary

MindStorm (not verified)

at 13:49 on January 7th, 2009

I am mentally ill, not to such a degree that I cannot function on my own, however. I have bipolar disorder. I also have a number of other health issues, in conjunction with my BP that makes it impossible to hold down a full or part time job. I have dealt with feelings of shame, remorse, depression and more, since I stopped working a few years ago. It was only a matter of time and I would have been let go due to my work performance and attendence. I wanted to avoid hard feelings and allow time for my replacement, so I arranged to leave work before they made the arrangement for me. Had I been completely on my own, I may well have become homeless. It is because of a supportive family that I have not had to face such adversity. I am having difficulty finding a doctor who will treat me due to the number of documented health conditions that I deal with. I had moderate success while working due to health insurance. Without it, doctors feel I'm too much to deal with, it seems. I've been turned away more times than I can count, and have resorted to long drives, to major cities with the same results. I simply cannot afford treatment and travel. Without my family, I would not just be suffering due to non treatment, I would be suffering due to non treatment on the streets. There simply are not enough medical options for the poor, unemployed or homeless. There are too many people willing to turn you away, especially when they realize they can't make a quick buck. Also, in some cases, I believe certain medical offices or venues can be over saturated, leaving little room or time for those who cannot pay. I beleieve many of the folks on the street, can lead more productive lives, if they were afforded proper treatement. As a whole, the U.S. has a poor attitude toward the homeless, the mentally ill, and the physically and mentally challenged. It is a poor matter of affairs to be sure. Yes... something needs done. If you find this to be of true concern, do not turn the other cheek... be proactive. Words can spread the news, however actions are what are needed to make the necessary change. There are organizations in which you can make donations... if you don't have money, you can donate time or services. Direct the message to your local government, pressure those who can make change to do so. Unfortunately, many people want things to be easy... It's easier to read the article, and say, "How unfortunate", and go about your day, then to act. That's why so many organizations have to spend extra time and effort to create "easy" ways for others to help out. Don't wait for an easy out, help is needed now.

duo

at 15:30 on January 7th, 2009

Hello, Mindstorm. Thank you very much for writing in support of improved mental health services. If you read more of my articles, you will note that money that could and should be spent on preventive health care seems to be lacking, while our prison budget is approximately $185 billion annually.

We at Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill believe there is an awful connection between the gap in health care for the mentally ill and America's propensity to arrest mental patients and hold them as prisoners at a cost to taxpayers of around $150,000 per mentally ill offender per year. At that rate, if a 35-year-old mentally ill person commits a terrible offense, such as murder, and is sentenced to life in prison, the cost to taxpayers for imprisoning that one individual can exceed $6 million.

Congratulations on your efforts to get care that you need. Please confer with Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law and Treatment Advocacy Center and NAMI to see if there are services available you may be unaware of at this time. Some very important mental health laws passed in 2008, some late in the year, that may have a positive impact on the services now available. For instance, Medicare now recognizes mental health care on a par with physical illness. Since you are unable to work, have you applied for disability benefits and Medicare? If not, I urge you to do so. But do not wait to be accepted for Social Security before getting in touch with the agencies I mentioned to see if they can help you ascertain help. Don't be a sitting duck for jail. I fear that may be the plan for you and others who meet difficulty getting help timely.

Please join Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill ("AIMI") so that all the members can be made aware of your circumstances and work together to assist you. First, you must join Care2, which is a free online network with over 9 million members worldwide. Then, look at their human rights groups and select Assistance to the Incarcerated Mentally Ill - look for the red jail house building. Here are links to Care2 and to AIMI. Please write me again at this comment board if you have trouble accessing either of these links. Our work is greatly censored, as it seeks to assist people who are either incarcerated for mental illness or in danger of same.

Care2: http://www.care2.com/

AIMI: http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/AIMI

Blessings to you and your family throughout this new year.

Mary