(July 21, 2016) A mentally ill man accused of killing two women in a Florida hospital last week was reportedly awaiting a court-ordered mental evaluation at the time of the incident—the fifth such order to get help that he had received in the last 10 years. (“Gunman accused of killing 2 at Titusville hospital was waiting for mental health evaluation,” WFTV, July 18).
David Owens, 29, entered a Florida hospital last Sunday morning and fatally shot an 88-year-old patient and a hospital employee, in what police are calling a “random” act of violence.
In the days following the shooting, information has come out revealing Owens’ long history of mental illness and his family’s many failed attempts to get him help – eight to be exact.
Florida’s mental health system is clearly broken. Unsurprisingly, the state received an F for its inpatient commitment law and another F for its gross underuse of the laws overall in our 2014 survey of state mental health commitment laws.
Moreover, the state currently maintains just 13.1 beds per 100,000 people — far below the 50-bed standard considered necessary in order to provide minimally adequate treatment to people suffering with severe mental illness.
We can see the consequences of the broken system in Owens’ case.
A staff member at a treatment facility recommended in 2013 that Owens be involuntarily committed into an inpatient psychiatric hospital.
In 2016, three years after Owens himself requested to be admitted to a crisis unit, a judge ordered another mental health evaluation for him. That exam was still pending at the time of last Sunday’s shooting.
“For the people that lost their life, I hurt for them and their family,” said Owens' mother.
Owens’ mother said she tried for years to get long-term care for her mentally ill son. She believed her son was “out of control” and that he was off his medications.
She said Owens often spoke of killing, and she felt he was a danger to himself and others. She begged for her son to be sent to a mental hospital but, somehow, he continued to fall through the cracks.
“If the laws are not there, then no judge can say, ‘Let's force him to take his meds,’” said former chief judge and current WFTV legal analyst Belvin Perry. “We really need to evaluate the laws to make sure we protect the patients’ rights, get them help and protect society.”
Until something is done to address this abysmal situation, tragedies like this will surely continue.
To comment, visit our Facebook page.
Visit our blog archive to read all our recent posts.