Will Governor Mills’ Commission Get to The Truth?

Isn’t it just swell that the Governor of Maine, Janet Mills, will be forming an “independent commission” to investigate the events leading up to the mass murders in Lewiston, Maine, including the previous signs related to the murderer.” That’s a grand idea. But will the Governor get to the nuts and bolts or is it just more political pandering and grandstanding?

The thing is, there is much to be learned that may shed some light on why the killer, Robert Card became another in a long line of mass murderers. Let’s start with Card’s mental health. It’s the best place to start. C’mon we all know that for fourteen days Card was “treated” for mental health issues last July at Four Winds Psychiatric Hospital in Katonah, New York by a Psychiatrist; he was referred by a Psychologist from the Keller Army Community Hospital in upstate New York. What we don’t know, and must know, is what “treatment” did Card receive?

More to the point, what psychiatric drugs were prescribed to Card during his rather lengthy stay at Four Winds? Was Card prescribed an antidepressant, antipsychotic or maybe a cocktail of psychiatric drugs? This vital information is unknown to date. Why? Because we know the history of investigations of mass murderers. There is little doubt that, in this case, the Military knew right away what drugs Card had been prescribed and the State Police of Maine also knew immediately what psychiatric drugs Card had been prescribed.

In fact, there is little doubt that law enforcement knew who Card’s treating psychiatrist was within hours of the shooting incident and knew Card’s mental illness diagnosis. Was Card diagnosed as schizo, depressed, or just having a little anxiety? It matters huge.

The mind-altering drugs Card was given at Keller and Four Winds depended on his mental illness diagnosis. These drugs have their own set of problems called adverse events. For example, some people who take antidepressants may suffer from anxiety, dizziness, headache, emotional blunting (feeling emotionally numb), depression, agitation, hallucinations, abnormal behavior, aggression or violence, and thoughts of suicide, mania, and hypomania to name a few.

What if Card was diagnosed with schizophrenia and given an Antipsychotic? Here are the possible side effects. Sexual and hormonal problems, suicidal feelings and behavior, confusion and agitation, hallucinations, aggression, out of touch with reality and socially withdrawn and detached from those around you.

Now, let’s us consider if Card had been put on a cocktail of these mind-altering drugs. Holy here we go again Batman! Is it possible that the drugs may have harmed Card? Sure. Will the mental health community admit that the drugs may have harmed Card? No. Will the mental health community publicly admit that never has there been a single clinical trial conducted by the pharmaceutical companies to understand the effects associated with cocktails of drugs? No.

Now, let’s twist it a little more. Let’s consider that Card had received mental health treatment before last July. What was he then diagnosis with that got him drugged? Did he have an adverse event from the drugs he was prescribed prior to the July breakdown? Did those mind-altering drugs cause his abnormal behavior that led to the July “treatment” at Four Winds?

Right now, it’s a big secret. The public isn’t allowed to have that information. Based on the information provided, the public can rebuild the weapon Card used, but is clueless about Card’s state of mind at the time of the shootings.

This deliberate withholding of the mass murderers’ mental health records must stop. It’s time to acknowledge the elephant in the room…psychiatric mind-altering drugs. This information is absolutely necessary. Will Governor Mill’s new commission investigate the possibility that Card’s violent behavior may be due to the psychiatric “treatment” he received? Probably not.

If we look at the past killers, the vast majority were receiving mental health “treatment,” there never is a discussion that the psychiatric drugs played a role in the violent behavior. In fact, what usually happens is that drug information is never made public and there is a call for increased mental health services.  And the mass killings continue.

Maybe this time? Maybe Governor Mills will demand that the mental health “treatment” of Card be made public and openly considered as an element of his deadly behavior? Maybe this Governor’s efforts will help to understand why people just randomly snap and finally stop the bloodshed?

– Our guess for the name of the Commission is either “gun violence missed signs” or “lesson learned”.  We will be watching for sure.