Paper Example on Mental Illness and Unprovoked Killing: A Washington Post Case Study

Introduction

Over the recent past, cases of deaths caused by people alleged to be mentally ill have been on the rise. In such cases, it is not possible to determine the cause as to why one was murdered. The perpetrators of these acts do this for no apparent reason, and that is why the killer's mental health is questioned. In this paper, we look at a case in the Washington Post on 30th August 2019. The case is about a 27-year-old lady who was randomly attacked on the night of 27th August, 2019.

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A brief of the case

The lady who was attacked is Margery Magill, and she was a paid dog walker. An assailant confronted her at around 8.45 pm and struck her in the back, neck, and also stomach (Alexander, Demkovich, & Duggan, 2019). The incident happened in Irving Street, NW. The neighbors claimed that they had a person crying for help. Elias Aregahegne 24, while in interrogation, agreed that he was in the scene of the crime. He said that there were voices which were speaking to him and things got out of hands when he went out. The detectives had first followed a trail of blood that led them to 500 block of Columbia Road which is about a quarter-mile away from the scene.

Symptoms Showing Mental Illness

Some of the symptoms that makes one understand that the suspect was mentally ill is admitting that he killed a person (Smith, Hamer, & Gardner, 2018). If it was an ordinary criminal case, the victim could not have agreed to the charges, and he could have defended himself. Aregahegne also said that he could hear voices from his head. From the police records, it was found that on the 14th June 2014 that he wanted to commit suicide, and police were called to save him. People with mental illness are usually harmful to themselves and also to those who are around them.

How the illness Might have Contributed to the Criminal Behavior

Many mental conditions can lead one to commit a crime. An example of one mental health condition is bipolar. If the victim was having this condition or schizophrenia, he is likely to hear voices leading him to do evil. Most of the time, some people claim that they will hear 'the voice of God' telling them to go and punish someone, maybe a prostitute (Silver, Felson, & Vaneseltine, 2008). The victim might have hated the work that the lady was doing to walk with dogs around and get paid. Other times people will claim that it is 'the voice of the devil' which made them go and commit the crime. Wherever the voice comes from, it shows that mental illness can cause one to commit a crime.

How the Story was presented in the media

The media plays an essential role in informing. The press first treated the case as a crime and that how it was initially presented to the people. Later after the victim was charged, more information was searched about the victim's mental health. One negative message about mental health that was propagated by the media is treating the victim as already guilty, while people who are not mentally fit should not take a plea before the medical examination. The media made the people believe that the lady was attacked for no apparent reason. While the lady was not wrong, the suspect had a reason for the murder, which is mental illness. On the other hand, they gave evidence of how the victim had several cases of mental condition earlier. The media was recommending that such people who have a mental illness should be treated in seclusion to avoid such incidences. That was a positive message.

Conclusion

Mental illness is causing the number of unexplained deaths to be on the rise. The case presented above could have been avoided if there were proper ways to ensure that the people who are mentally ill are secluded. They should be given the appropriate medication, whether they like it or not. The media is playing a significant role in gathering relevant information after various cases. They are able to know whether there was a history of mental health in this way.

References

Alexander, K. L., Demkovich, L., & Duggan, P. (2019, 30th August). The Washington Post. Retrieved from https//www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/suspect-in-random-dc-fatal-stabbing-has-history-of-mental-illness/2019/08/29/ab953548-ca7c-11e9-a1fe-ca46e8d573c0_story.html

Silver, E., Felson, R. B., & Vaneseltine, M. (2008). The relationship between mental health problems and violence among criminal offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 35(4), 405-426.

Smith, L., Hamer, M., & Gardner, B. (2018). Sedentary Behavior and Mental Health. In Exercise-Based Interventions for Mental Illness (pp. 107-119). Academic Press.