The tragic story at the Miami airport recalls the fact that mentally ill individuals are far more likely to be killed by police. I googled the topic, and found this website on the phenomenon of Suicide by Cop. How many more of our most vulnerable people may fall victim to trigger-happy air marshals?
One reason for putting people in a mental asylum was to protect them from themselves--and others. It may be that the Global War on Terror will mean that America has to take a closer look at the way we treat the mentally ill, and make some changes in the way their cases are managed (or ignored), in order to protect them from those who might mistake them for terrorists.
More on this story from Laura Rozen.
