Psychiatrists do seem to make a fair number of mistakes in releasing insane people who go on to kill. As the nation ponders the news that John Hinckley is to be released for unsupervised visits to his parents, consider Yesenio Quevedo, who poisoned and killed her four year old daughter about 24 hours after being released by no less than the Stanford University Medical Center.

The details are almost too painful to repeat. If psychiatrists are subject to such mistakes on a regular basis, then shouldn't our laws regarding the release of sexual predators, and others with severe mental problems, be revised? Doesn't the public merit better protection?

Posted by Thomas 12 18 03