(July 27, 2015) When John Russel Houser, 59, shot several people, killing two and injuring nine in a Louisiana movie theater, he joined the substantial list of killers with severe mental illness who were untreated.
Houser reportedly had a long history of mental illness and “erratic behavior” that included threats against his family, at least one commitment to a psychiatric hospital in Alabama and several run-ins with law enforcement. He possessed medication for his bipolar disorder but often refused to take it, according to court records cited in the media (“Gunman had mental health problems, bitter family disputes, records show,” the Washington Post, July 24).
“Louisiana has an outpatient commitment law that could have mandated treatment for Houser – someone who is too sick to recognize his own need for treatment,” said Treatment Advocacy Center Executive Director John Snook. “People with severe mental illness who are receiving treatment are no more likely than the general population to commit an act of violence.
“Louisiana must make better use of the tools that would prevent tragedies like this.”
Relevant information about Louisiana and court-ordered treatment:
- For an individual with severe mental illness to receive involuntary intervention for psychiatric crisis in Louisiana, he or she must be dangerous to self or others or meet a strictly interpreted standard for being "gravely disabled."
- Where implemented, assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) laws have been shown to reduce episodes of violence, incarceration, homelessness and repeat hospitalization among individuals with severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
- Louisiana earned a “C” for its use of laws that allow for intervention during a psychiatric crisis, including AOT.
- Louisiana has only 40% of the beds necessary to meet the needs of its population with severe mental illness.
- A person with severe mental illness is four times more likely to be in jail or prison than receiving treatment in a hospital.
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