Tim McLean Should Not Have Died on That Bus

Cindy deDelley, Tim McLean's mother, the man who was brutally murdered on the Greyhound bus last summer, is understandably upset and angry. However, her fury is directed at the wrong target: she blames her son's killer, Vincent Li. Mr Li was found not crinimally responsible for the murder as he has schizophrenia. Cindy deDelley believes that Mr. Li should spend the rest of his life in prsion after (and if) he is successfully treated for his mental illness. Would she feel the same way in the following hypothetical situation? If a driver killed her son by running over him after having a heart attack, would Ms deDelley demand the driver be put in prison after he was treated in emerg? I don't think so .....

So why isn't her anger directed at the inadequacies of the mental health system? After all, it is that system that failed to provide Mr. Li with support and monitoring - it is that sytem that failed both Mr. Li and Mr. McLean. Why isn't Ms. deDelley lobbying for the improved delivery of mental health care; quicker and better access to pyschiatric help; and better public education on the nature of mental illnesses?