“I’m sorry... I am happier now.” This was the note of John Lutz, a 24 year-old marine
veteran who committed suicide on January 12, 2013 after the tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lutz
struggled to cope with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He transformed completely after
combat, battling mood swings and recoiling from loud noises. Although Lutz had received
treatment at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, he failed to heal from PTSD and perceived his
only option as suicide. Unfortunately, the PTSD that afflicted Lutz is merely one form of mental
illness that harms Americans everyday. These mental illnesses not only kill, but also damage an
individual both emotionally and physically. Research into mental illness shows that in many
instances, these …show more content…
Psychology professor Richard Friedman notes that, “In absolute terms, the lifetime
prevalence of violence among people with serious mental illness was 16%, as compared with 7%
among people without mental illness” (Friedman 1). D. Mark Anderson, Resul Cesur and Erdal
Tekin provide specific examples of Friedman’s trend in their study “Youth Depression and
Future Criminal Behaviors,” noting that “empirical estimates show that adolescents who suffer
from depression face an increased probability of engaging in property crime” (Anderson, Cesur,
and Tekin 1). As Dave Cullen, author of Columbine, recounts, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris,
students of Columbine High School, committed this property crime. They broke into a locked
van to steal computers. The police discovered Harris and Klebold, however, in an open field
which resulted in a diversionary program as their punishment. Three months later, on April 20,
1999, Harris and Klebold committed a mass murder at Columbine High School, killing 13
individuals and injuring 24 others. After this tragedy, investigators classified Harris as
veteran who committed suicide on January 12, 2013 after the tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lutz
struggled to cope with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He transformed completely after
combat, battling mood swings and recoiling from loud noises. Although Lutz had received
treatment at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, he failed to heal from PTSD and perceived his
only option as suicide. Unfortunately, the PTSD that afflicted Lutz is merely one form of mental
illness that harms Americans everyday. These mental illnesses not only kill, but also damage an
individual both emotionally and physically. Research into mental illness shows that in many
instances, these …show more content…
Psychology professor Richard Friedman notes that, “In absolute terms, the lifetime
prevalence of violence among people with serious mental illness was 16%, as compared with 7%
among people without mental illness” (Friedman 1). D. Mark Anderson, Resul Cesur and Erdal
Tekin provide specific examples of Friedman’s trend in their study “Youth Depression and
Future Criminal Behaviors,” noting that “empirical estimates show that adolescents who suffer
from depression face an increased probability of engaging in property crime” (Anderson, Cesur,
and Tekin 1). As Dave Cullen, author of Columbine, recounts, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris,
students of Columbine High School, committed this property crime. They broke into a locked
van to steal computers. The police discovered Harris and Klebold, however, in an open field
which resulted in a diversionary program as their punishment. Three months later, on April 20,
1999, Harris and Klebold committed a mass murder at Columbine High School, killing 13
individuals and injuring 24 others. After this tragedy, investigators classified Harris as