BOSTON — Massachusetts is one of only four states that does not have laws addressing outpatient services for the mentally ill – a failure that led one advocacy group to give the state an “F” for how it helps people in crisis, FOX25 Investigates found.
“Unfortunately Massachusetts has a very outdated treatment standard,” said John Snook, executive director of nonprofit The Treatment Advocacy Center, which gave the state an “F” for how it helps those with severe mental illness. “So what that basically means is until you get so sick that you’re actively attacking people, you’re basically left on your own.”
The shocking shortfall comes in the wake of a deadly rampage that left two dead and five injured after a mentally ill Taunton man -- who had earlier sought help at a local hospital -- went on a stabbing spree Tuesday night.
Police say the suspect, 28-year-old Arthur DaRosa, stabbed a mother and daughter at their home on Myricks Street before continuing his rampage at Silver City Galleria mall. DaRosa, was later shot and killed by an off-duty deputy.
DaRosa’s sister told FOX25 she helped him check into Morton Hospital after he called her on Monday, talking manically and claiming the devil was speaking to him. But hours later, DaRosa walked out of the psych ward.
Advocates tell FOX25 he should have never left the hospital without some kind of support. Laws in other states allow a judge to order outpatient mental health treatment for patients who are a danger to themselves and others and have refused to seek help voluntarily.
“Forty-six states have that program,” said Snook. “Massachusetts is only one of four that don’t. And again, it’s not a money thing. It’s simply a decision by the Mental Health Department and the Legislature to not do what needs to be done.”
This isn't the first time a possible failure in the state's mental health system has had serious consequences.
In 2014, cell phone video captured another mentally ill man, Bodio Hutchinson, attacking and stabbing two park rangers on the Boston Common.
For Hutchinson – like DaRosa – the warning signs had been there for years that he needed mental help, according to former Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief Dan Linskey.
Linskey, who now works for private security firm Kroll, was the negotiator for a standoff involving Hutchinson eight years earlier in 2006.
“Myself, as a hostage negotiator, and an entire swat team had a 12-hour standoff with him at a house where he stabbed a swat officer with a screwdriver,” said Linskey. “It shouldn’t be a law enforcement and criminal justice issue. This is a health issue.”
Massachusetts has a shortage of inpatient treatment beds with only 22 percent of the beds necessary to meet the needs of the state’s population of severely mentally ill, according to The Treatment Advocacy Center.
State Sen. Kenneth Donnelly (D-Arlington) said he’s filed legislation for at least the past three sessions seeking to strengthen laws for outpatient mental health services, but so far, the bills haven’t gone anywhere.