Pete Earley

Joanne Kelly was in church one Sunday when her minister announced during his sermon: “If you are diligent enough in your spiritual practice, you don’t need psychotropic medications.”

Kelly, who has an adult son with a mental illness, was happy that her son had skipped church that day. She confronted the minister after the service.

“What you said was extremely irresponsible,” she scolded.

Getting within an inch of her face and clearly angry, he replied, “When I give a sermon, I am channeling God.”

Joanne never returned to that church. She found a new one. She also got involved in the National Alliance on Mental Illness, serving as the president of both her local Boulder chapter and the state NAMI group. Then she went a step further. Joanne  joined the Rev. Alan Johnson in forming the Interfaith Network on Mental illness. One of its goals is to educate the clergy about mental illnesses.

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Painting by Max Maddox
(copyrighted)

One of the best ways to fight stigma is by telling our stories and earlier this week, I mentioned that Colorado Springs novelist and award winning NAMI advocate, Kathy Brandt, and her son, Max Maddox, had written an especially well-crafted and poignant memoir entitled Walks On The Margins. She gives the parental viewpoint and Max writes as an individual dealing with the symptoms of bipolar disorder.

On Monday, I published two excerpts from their book written by Kathy about her relationship with NAMI [National Alliance on Mental Illness.] Now I am posting two excerpts from the book written by Max.

The first describes his thoughts when he was first hospitalized.

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Yesterday afternoon The Washington Post published an Op Ed that I’d written that explained why I believe it is wrong to execute persons with mental illnesses even when they commit mass murders, as in the case of the Aurora movie theater shooter.  Those of you who are regulars readers of this blog already knew that was my position. By this morning, there were 200 comments and most of the commentators didn’t agree with me. Some of the ugliest statements were posted by writers who hid behind pseudonyms which always makes people feel safer than if they knew their neighbors might be reading their rants.

While my OP ED is only available on line, today’s print edition of the newspaper published a column by Richard Cohen about the death penalty and accused gunman James E. Holmes. He reaches the same conclusion that I did but for different reasons.

I’ve put my OP Ed below and here is a link to Cohen’s piece.

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Readers continue to comment about my recent blog: The Changing Face of NAMI . In addition to the 140 plus comments that have been posted, I’ve received emails from NAMI friends and leaders who were dismayed by the angry tone of some writers. This reaction by Kathy Brandt, a NAMI activist in Colorado Springs, is representative:

I’m disturbed by the some of the animosity within NAMI  that’s reflected in the comments on your website.  We ought to be colleagues who accept one another’s opinions (agree to disagree)  rather than being adversaries.   Surely, as people who have been in the trenches of discrimination and stigma, we are the best at accepting and celebrating difference.  

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Am I the only one who is dismayed by Arapahoe District Attorney George Brauchler’s decision this week to seek the death penalty in the Aurora movie shooting case?

The defense offered to have their client plead guilty and spend the rest of his life in prison without a chance of parole. But that wasn’t good enough for Prosecutor Brauchler, who rejected the offer after “consulting with 800 victims and their families.” The Denver D.A. declared: “For James Eagan Holmes, justice is death.”

Holmes has schizophrenia. 

Here is an excerpt from a blog that I first posted July 26th last year about the Death Penalty and the Holmes case.

FROM MY FILES FRIDAY   Should Prosecutors Seek the Death Penalty in the Batman Movie Case?

I don’t believe that persons whose crimes were prompted by a severe mental disorder such as schizophrenia should be executed. I do not believe a person with an impaired brain is as culpable as someone who murders for profit.  What follows is my response to the reasons that often are given to justify the death penalty in these cases.

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The National Alliance on Mental Illness has released a statement about Guns, Mental Illness and Violence. Give my recent blog posts about NAMI and its official policies, I wanted to share this policy statement with you.

Guns, Mental Illness and Violence — an Official Statement

NAMI’s public policy platform recognizes that most acts of violence or dangerous acts by people affected by mental illness are the result of mental health systems’ treatment failures. Public policies and programs that provide access to early diagnosis, crisis intervention, appropriate treatment and support, including integrated treatment when there is co-occurring substance abuse, must be available and accessible. In addition, family support and education must be available and promoted.

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