Carnage in Birmingham: The Same Old Song

 It's not easy to write posts like this, as there is always the chance that a friend or relative of the person murdered by a mental health patient might read it - and the last thing I want is to add to their grief. There is also the fact that I have written on this topic a number of times before, and I am aware that some uncharitable people will accuse me of having a "bee in my bonnet" on this topic - as if the murder of an innocent person was something to be ignored. I for one do not think that; it's my opinion that all these victims and their loved ones are important, and deserve to be written about.

So it is with the young man in the picture above. Jacob Billington, from Crosby in Merseyside, was 23 years old when he went on a night out with friends in Birmingham on September 6, 2020. Along with seven other innocent victims, he was unfortunate enough to encounter a local man, 29-year old Zephaniah McLeod, seen below.

 In a 90-minute rampage, McLeod carried out five knife attacks in Birmingham during which he made a journey home to change knives. At the end of his violent spree, seven people were injured, some severely and Jacob Billington lay dying. Mcleod then went home, and was arrested at 4AM next morning. He has been sentenced to 21 years of incarceration and it is to be hoped that he will not "respond well" to treatment and possibly be released early - perhaps to kill again.

People who have read my previous posts on this subject will recognise one familiar factor in this case: the fact that Mcleod was well known to the police and the mental health professionals as a man with issues (to put it mildly). At his trial in Birmingham Crown Court last week, the court heard that McLeod, a paranoid schizophrenic, had refused a psychiatric appointment four days before he launched his attacks. As the BBC says: "Prior to that, McLeod had been out of contact with health services after being released from prison that April, despite a history of refusing to take his medication and hearing voices telling him to kill and stab people." (My italics). It comes as no surprise to learn that McLeod had taken narcotics before his stabbing spree, perhaps as a replacement for his medication. Yes, that is sarcasm.

Another familiar feature in this case is the bewilderment of the victims' relatives (and the rest of us) at the fact that this obviously dangerous individual was walking the streets. Jacob Billington's mother told the court that she hoped McLeod's care would be "properly looked into and that all involved remember my son bled to death in the street at the hands of someone well-known to many agencies". That is very well said, and I endorse those words but, sadly, they have been uttered many times before, and these incidents continue to happen. I have been blogging about them for a number of years and, even more sadly, I do not expect them to stop after this terrible event.

I usually end posts like this in a similar vein - a kind of resigned acceptance that these crimes will continue. But these attacks are unacceptable, and that is why I blog about them. In this incident, a young life has been ended, and we should conclude, I think, with the words of Jacob Billington's family. They have said:

"Jacob was the light of our life and we have been devastated by his loss. He was a funny, caring and wonderful person who was loved by every single person he met .He lit up every room with his boundless energy and witty humour and the loss of such a special person will be felt by all who knew him for years to come."

The trauma caused to Jacob's family - and to all such bereaved families - is agonisingly expressed by his mother, Joanne:

"I am haunted about how he died, how terrified he must have been...This tortures me every time I close my eyes."

In this, she speaks for all  the relatives of those who die at the hands of murderous mental health patients. All I can do is to express my  condolences over the loss of her son, and I am sure that I speak for all who read this blog. May Jacob Billington rest in peace, and may the questions raised by his death be satisfactorily answered. It's the same old song, but it needs to be sung.