As the nation continues to search for the reasons behind the rampage in Arizona, a Jefferson County woman says the answer is simple: mental illness.
Kimberly Davis says her brother, Dennis Seymour Davis, suffered from schizophrenia since he was a child. She sees many similarities between him and Jared Loughner, the Tucson man accused of opening fire at a political event which wounded a Congresswoman and killed nine others. "It's not about guns. It's not about terrorism. It's about the fact we have a lot of sick people and no help for them." Davis told CNY Central's Jim Kenyon Wednesday.
Davis says mental illness is not an excuse for the tragic events in Arizona, but she says there were many warning signs about Loughner that went ignored. She says when her brother was old enough to be on his own, he exhibited many of the same warning signs. "My brother was fortunate enough to have a family that loved him and wanted to help him but nobody would work with us." she claimed.
Kimberly Davis says her brother never really got any help until he committed a crime. In February of 2008 he showed up at the Nice and Easy store in Pulaski with a rifle and fired off two rounds in a fit of delusional rage. Dennis Davis was arrested and jailed for six months before being transferred to a psychiatric facility in Rochester. He died four days later of "undetermined" causes, according to an autopsy report.
Kim Davis complains that unlike other diseases like cancer or diabetes, there are few if any fundraisers for mental illness because of the stigma attached to it. She says victims of mental illness are mostly shunned by society until something horrific happens like the shooting spree in Tucson.
