The Strange Case of James Brady

Here's the Strange Case of James Brady. No...not that James Brady. Another James Brady. This is the story of a Psychological Torture victim whose name is, coincidentally, the same as that of the other James Brady. This James Brady's life was also, not so coincidentally, used to justify gun control.

The James Brady you're thinking of was shot in the Ronald Reagan assassination attempt. John Hinkley, Jr., good buddy of George Bush and family, after having been released from a Federal Mental Institution and, reportedly, being photographed at a Nazi rally with one of the Bush boys, shot that James Brady.

This James Brady was another kind of victim:

ATLANTA - A smiling gunman who was released from a mental hospital despite homicidal and suicidal tendencies opened fire in the food court of a suburban shopping mall Tuesday, killing one man and wounding four people, police said.

The man tried to reload the .38 caliber revolver but tossed it into a trash can before calmly walking out and surrendering, police said.

James Calvin Brady, 31, surrendered to DeKalb County police outside the mall just after the shootings, said police spokesman Chuck Johnson.

"He held up his hands and said, 'I'm the one you're looking for,'" said police Col. M.F. Ferguson.

Police said Brady was charged Tuesday night with one count of murder and four counts of aggravated assault. He was being held without bond, and other charges may be filed.

A document found in Brady's pocket said he was released Monday from Georgia Regional Hospital in Atlanta. He was admitted to the state hospital April 13, but the document did not say why he was released, said DeKalb police Col. M.F. Ferguson.

The document "said he had homicidal and suicidal tendencies, and suffered from delusions," Ferguson said.

During questioning, police said Brady talked of God and about a "mechanical device" inside him that controls his actions.

"He's suffering from hallucinations. He was probably having one when he fired," Ferguson said.

Note the "'mechanical device' inside him that controls his actions." Now, the Los Angeles Times spin on the same story:

ATLANTA - A shooting spree by a former mental patient in which one person was killed and four wounded touched off a furor Wednesday in Georgia over mental health policy and gun control.

James Calvin Brady, the suspect in the Tuesday shootings at a suburban shopping mall, had in his pocket a form saying he was released Monday from a state mental hospital where he was treated for showing homicidal tendencies.

The question of why he was released after only 10 days of treatment reverberated on radio talk shows, in the subway and on the streets Wednesday.

State officials say they were only following criteria for such releases. "There are fairly rigid constraints" on holding patients against their will, said John Watson, deputy superintendent of the Georgia Regional Hospital, where Brady was held.

Overcrowding was not a problem at the hospital, officials said, implying that Brady was released because he was judged to be no longer a threat to himself or others.

Brady was back in a state mental institution Wednesday, after De Kalb County jail officials determined they could not care for him properly. He was taken to Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, Ga., for evaluation. Authorities said they still expect him to stand trial in the shootings.

Jim Ledbetter, commissioner of the state Department of Human Resources, said Georgia's eight mental hospitals treat 20,000 patients a year, almost 80% of whom are involuntary patients like Brady. He said the shooting was the first such incident he recalls involving a former mental patient.

Nevertheless, he said, a routine investigation will be conducted to make sure the release was made "in accordance with established medical practice."

Brady bought a handgun just hours after his release from the hospital, renewing the debate in Georgia over handgun control. To purchase the weapon, Brady merely had to show a driver's license and sign a form declaring, among other assertions, that he was not mentally ill. There is no waiting period on gun purchases in Georgia.

Gov. Joe Frank Harris conceded that the shootings make "a very strong statement" about the need for gun control, but he asserted: "I'm not sure any gun control law could prevent something like this happening."

Brady is black, repeatedly identified in television reports as "a well-dressed black man."

"He only shot white people," said one of many angry callers to a local radio talk show Wednesday. Hospital and De Kalb County police officials said all the victims were white, but police made no racial links in the shootings.

If anyone knows how to contact this victim's lawyer, drop me a line. -Thanks.