Mentally Ill Mental Illness Essay - 820 words

A Psychotic Killer Sues His Psychiatrist Time Magazine Take that, you bastard! This quote from Wendell Williamson is presented in large, bold text at the bottom of this Time magazine article. Such is the portrayal of Williamson in an attempt to give us a glimpse into this psychotic killer s mind. Williamson, who suffered from a mental illness involving delusions, shot and killed two people in 1995. In this article, however, Williamson is misrepresented repeatedly. Williamson ceases to become a victim of a mental disorder, but is defined by it in this article.


This article presents mental illness as the reason a fine young man somehow is transformed into a psychotic killer. A promising young law student at the University of North Carolina, Williamson suddenly began suffering from delusions. One day, he even started screaming and slapping himself in public. This was enough to get Williamson admitted for a ten-day evaluation period in a psychiatric ward. Williamson was released after this period, but continued to hear voices.


In 1994 Williamson sought out the care of psychiatrist Dr. Myron Liptzin. Dr. Liptzin found Williamson to be delusional and prescribed for him some antipsychotic drugs. Liptzin planned on retiring soon, however, and could no longer see Williamson.


Liptzin did not refer Williamson to any specific doctor, but encouraged him to find a new one. Williamson did not take Dr. Liptzin s advice, and he even stopped taking his medication. On January 26, 1995, Williamson shot two people in broad daylight with an M- 1 rifle. Williamson then stood trial for the murders and was judged insane by a jury, and acquitted of murder.


Williamson blames Dr. Liptzin for not giving him the proper treatment or referral, and successfully sued Liptzin for $ 500, 000. This article presents a disturbing account of a clearly ill young man. However, perhaps even more disturbing is the way he and his actions are presented by the media.


Very few details are given about his mental illness. Not even a specific definition of his disorder is given. Instead this article presents Wendell Williamson as an extremely crazed and dangerous individual. A great deal of emphasis is placed on Williamson s sinister and scary acts, and he is presented as the stereotypical psychotic killer. This article serves to further the bias against mentally ill people and provokes fear and the misunderstanding of them. Some rather fl ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Essay Tags: young man, time magazine, mental health, mentally ill, mental illness

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