It never ends:Arrested 42 times, including assault Man allegedly emotionally disturbed nevertheless roams free It is said that he punched the hero's subway cleaner. last week.
Such fears will continue until New York's leaders finally get serious about keeping dangerous individuals (psychotic and criminals) out of public space. expected.
Alexander Wright, 49, was identified as the perpetrator of a vicious assault when he tried to stop MTA worker Anthony Nelson from harassing a passenger. But Wright shouldn't have been on the loose: By last year, he hadalready become the revolving door poster boy for thesystem (2021).
55 year old female At the time, Dermot Shea, the police commissioner at the time, was outraged about "letting these people out on the streets so soon." However, after a psychological evaluation in Bellevue, Wright...was immediately released to the streets. Again.
Weak criminal justice laws and the flexibility of judges and prosecutors in dealing with crimes are also part of the problem. But our mental health system usuallysends these violently ill people back into the world without proper treatment.
Nelson, good thing she wasn't killed, but Michel Goe — who was pushed in front of a subway train by a mad man in January — wasn't so lucky. Marshall Simon, who has a long history of mental illness, even warned the hospital's psychiatrist that he was going to push someone into his truck.
In April, amadman detonated a smoke grenade, randomly shooting passengers in a Brooklyn subway car. In the video, the accused perpetrator, Frank James, warned that he was full of anger and called himself a "victim" of the mental health system, which he also used to inflict fear. was free to
The list of attacks by the mentally ill is long, including the subway break-in rash. Still, leaders like Governor Kathy Hochul and House Speaker Carl Heastieandpretend everything is fine.
``Leave your car at home. You can get to work safely via public transport," Ho-chul said cheerfully the other day. Are you okay? Tell Michelle Goe's family or a passenger on a train in Brooklyn about it.
Yes, this year Albany tweaked Kendra's Law, which allows judges to force people into treatment, andfunded more mental beds. However, these measures are insufficient.
Hochul, Heathie and of course Mayor Eric Adams to get violent and sick people off the streets through stronger laws, more funding, better enforcement and more responsible mental health facilities. Or all of the above — the public has every right to be afraid.
