Man Attacks Mother Just One Day Following His Release from Hospital

Man Attacks Mother Just One Day Following His Release from Hospital
(Oct. 1, 2014) Just one day after being released from a psychiatric hospital, Clayton Kirk allegedly stabbed his mother, Sheila Kirk, several times with a large kitchen knife, reports WSB –TV from Georgia (“Police: Son hid in closet after stabbing mother” Sept. 29).

The family said they have been trying to get their son into treatment for his paranoid schizophrenia for years. Kirk was released from the hospital against his family’s wishes. 

When he appeared before a judge on the Monday following the attack, he didn’t seem to understand he was behind bars or why he was in court, reported WSB-TV.

Kirk is currently in the Gwinnet County Jail and his mother is being treated for critical injuries in the local hospital.

This story is too similar to the Virginia tragedy involving Senator Creigh Deeds and his son, Gus, who stabbed his father and fatally shot himself just hours after being released from an emergency hold at a Virginia Hospital. 

In the year since this tragedy, Virginia has taken steps toward reform. Last March, Deeds introduced legislation that may have helped his son. In May, Governor McAuliffe signed the bills which increase the time people can be held under a temporary detention order and an emergency psychiatric hold.

Georgia should take note. The state earned a C- in “Mental Health Commitment Laws: A Survey of the States” for its use of laws that facilitate access to treatment for mental illness and an F for its inpatient commitment grade. 

While the details of Kirk’s release from the hospital are unknown, it is clear that Georgia can improve and make better use of its assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) and inpatient laws for people with severe mental illness.