I hope that this is about to change. The trial of Matthew Daley this year for the killing of Donald Lock in 2015 brought this issue to the front pages of the national media, and exposed the failings of one mental health authority. The murder of tragic Darlene Horton, I believe, is going to lead to a further spur to action.
The word "tragic" is doubly apposite when we learn that, according to the Guardian:
"Darlene Horton, 64, was hours away from returning home to Tallahassee, Florida, with her husband when she was killed on Wednesday night."
Besides this, she was one of a number of people attacked by 19-year old Zakaria Bulhan last Wednesday evening, but was the only fatality.
This shocking event has devastated Mrs Horton's friends and family, who join the sad fraternity to which the relatives of Jo Cox, Donald Lock and all too many others now belong.
To be fair to the mental health authorites, Bulhan does not appear to have been on their radar, and this act of savagery has surprised everyone. Rather like the reaction of neighbours of Thomas Mair, the alleged killer of Jo Cox, Bulhan's relatives and friends have expressed disbelief. As the Telegraph says:
"Friends and neighbours expressed shock at the arrest of Mr Bulhan, a former student at Graveney School in Tooting, south London.
Neighbour Parmjit Singh Bhamra described Mr Bulhan as a "quiet, academic boy who was a bit of a loner" who liked football, basketball and music.
He said Mr Bulhan, who is unemployed, lived at the flat with his younger brother and his elder sister and their mother."
Given this, it is a wonder to me how the police arrived so quickly at the conclusion that this was not a terrorist attack. After all, the man convicted as a terrorist for the Leytonstone tube station attack, Muhiddin Mire, was thought by many to have attacked, at least partly, for ideological reasons. As The Guardian says: "...the victim, the doctor who treated him and a substantial part of Britain’s security establishment believed Mire’s violence was a result of his acute mental health problems rather than a political motivation.
After further inquiries, Scotland Yard this week publicly said so, but also said Mire had been inspired by Isis propaganda on his phone, the downloading of which appeared to coincide with his mental health deteriorating."
It is a good thing for Bulhan, then, that he did not shout "Allahu Akbar!" as he carried out his knife attacks. In fact, cynical though I may sound, it looks like a very good move on his part. After all, when so many murderous mental health patients get released to kill again (see previous blogs), he could be released in a few years' time to carry out further attacks.
But let us return to the much -loved and now much-missed Darlene Horton. Just how much loved is shown by this quote from The Guardian: "Jane Marks, a neighbour, told the Tallahassee Democrat that Horton was “absolutely lovely. Just one of the nicest, sweetest family-focused people who is very happy in her space and place”.
There is, however, the possibility of some good coming out of this tragedy. Darlene Horton was American. The government - especially this government - will not like the adverse attention abroad that Mrs Horton's death will bring. I hope then, that her murder will act as a catalyst to galvanise the government into urging greater efforts on the part of the mental health authorities to much more vigorous action to protect the public. If this happens (do I see pigs flying in formation over Hounslow?), then I shall stop writing about this melancholy issue.
As long as Tory governments see problems such as mental ill-health, unemployment and homelessness as the consequences of character weaknesses rather than having a socio-economic cause, nothing will be done.
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