Man arrested in deadly attack on AT

[richard]

https://www.foxnews.com/us/appalachian-trail-virginia-deadly-machete-attack-arrest

 

[skiguy]

More info here. Disclaimer: Have no idea how well this article is written. https://www.yahoo.com/news/man-nicknamed-sovereign-hacked-appalachian-204616039.html

 

[TCD]

I read the article earlier today. It made sense to me. Sounds like our justice system missed the opportunity to contain this guy when he was arrested in April for threatening hikers with the machete. Should have locked him up then and saved a life. Someone, beyond just the immediate perp, has blood on their hands...

 

[TCD]

Read the thread on Whiteblaze:

https://whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php/132975-“Armed-and-Dangerous-AT-hiker”

Listen to all the new wave jackasses babble about how it's a "rush to judgment", and people are "paranoid", and "nervous nellies."

Now, someone is dead. Not "offended"; not "marginalized"; DEAD. I want the folks who made this out to be "paranoia" to go explain that, face to face, to the family of the dead guy.

 

[sierra]

I agree that the problem extends beyond the attacker, but it's also beyond the criminal justice systems. The country doesn't take care of mentally ill people (at least the poorer ones), so the cycles of mentally ill people going through the system is pretty messed up. It seems like they'll never get meaningful help, and they'll only get locked up once they commit a serious enough crime. If as a society, we're not going to help people like this before they do something terrible, then it's on all of us. Would we rather pay for someone to get treatment before they commit a crime, or for a the trial and incarceration after? We're paying for it either way.

https://www.npr.org/2017/11/30/5674...atric-hospitals-led-to-a-mental-health-crisis

And for some broader context: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deinstitutionalisation#United_States

You make a great point. Whenever there is a Mass shooting, guns are the headline. Just once, I would like to see mental status as the headline. I once lived with a girl who was bipolar. Didn't really know it right away, but caught on quickly. At one point while we lived in Manchester, she got really bad. She told me one day, if something doesn't give," I'll either be in jail or a mental hospital in a month". So, I take her to a facility in Manchester for help. The doctor comes in and talks to us. Then he looks at her and says, " You need to start thinking positive", I kid you not. Shortly after that, we moved out West, where Mental health is a little more advanced. She got on the right meds and was then able to function quite well. I find it funny, the country is putting billions into the Opioid epidemic, but mental healthcare gets cut.