Adam Lanza Crime

It seems as if we cannot go a day without seeing news stations reporting stories involving criminal behavior; crime is everywhere, it is all around us. We have become so accustomed to the prevalence of crime in our streets that we can no longer distinguish a criminal from a law-abiding citizen, and we live our lives in fear that we will become a victim. Although we cannot pick out a criminal from a group of people, typically we can recognize when someone is affected by a severe mental illness. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, “Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year.” When the news stations report a story involving a mentally ill criminal, many people begin

Adam Lanza began perseverative hand washing, avoiding contact with other people, and becoming increasingly fearful. By fifth grade, AL had written and submitted 'The Big Book of Granny ' — a significant and violent text — and following that school year, his struggles began to escalate."
With these precursors to crime very, very prevalent in his childhood, many would suggest to seek medical help and treatment for his behaviors. Although Lanza did remain in special education services beginning in preschool, he was soon after released when the specialists believed he had “met all the speech standards” according to ABC News. There is no way of knowing for a fact, but many do believe that if Lanza were to have stayed in specialized therapy and had been treated longer for his Autism Spectrum Disorder, the lives of many, including his mother and the twenty-six other innocent lives he took, would have been spared. As reported by Mental Health Reporting,  “Many studies show that most people with mental illnesses get better, and many recover completely. With support, between 70 and 90 percent of individuals have a significant reduction of symptoms, an improved quality of life, and find a satisfying measure of achievement and

Many people can recover from the crippling mental illness that occupies their body, allowing them to become functioning, law-abiding citizens in our society. I believe that if he had continued his treatment until at least his mid-twenties, which is the time that a man’s brain begins the end of the developmental process. If this were to have been the case with Adam Lanza, many people would still be alive today. Taking a case as extreme as the Sandy Hook Elementary School Mass Murder can be used in school systems around the world in order to prevent such tragic happenings such as the Sandy Hook murders. When looking at the symptoms of a potential threat, many schools can become more aware and safe by giving treatment to those who need it. Providing teachers, principals, and counselors with the warning signs of a potential threat to the school’s safety can diminish the potential of a school shooting, and it will also provide help and assistance to those with a mental illness that is not under