Deadly Siege on RTD Bus

The tragic murder of a bus passenger by a deranged woman and her subsequent execution by sheriff’s deputies dramatize the ongoing tragedy assured by our reluctance to treat disabling mental illness. Major mental illnesses are just as real as diabetes or arthritis. Control of these diseases requires medical treatment. Witnesses quoted in your article describe the severity of Esther Rogers’ longstanding, untreated mental disability.

California law, inspired by persons who deny the medical and physiological aspects of major mental illness, now obstructs psychiatric treatment of persons whose illnesses block realization of their circumstances and desperate need. Protection of Esther Rogers’ civil liberties far outweighed both her need for psychiatric treatment and concern for public safety.

RUTH G. HUTCHINSON

Fullerton