Summary: 23-year-old Jeffrey Yao stabbed a 22-year-old woman over 20 times on her head and chest in a Massachusetts library last Saturday, causing the woman to later die in the hospital. When a 77-year-old man stepped in to try to help the woman, he was also stabbed, but luckily his wound wasn't fatal. The attack was done with a 10 inch hunting knife that was brought into the Winchester Public Library undetected, and Yao's motive and possible connection to the victim are currently unknown. When Yao's neighbors were interviewed after the attack, many of them noted that he "exhibited plenty of mental health issues" since at least high school, and his behavior became "increasingly erratic in recent years," one neighbor citing an attempted break-in into their house and others sharing fears that he would "kill someone." Yao has plead not guilty in court today, as his attorney claims the stabbing was due to Yao's mental illnesses and hopes Yao will be put in a maximum-security hospital instead of jail.
Questions:
1. In wake of recent pushes by the public for stronger gun control and/or background checks, should other weapons, like knives, face similar restrictions? Is there another, better way to make sure that similar stabbings and deaths will be stopped or controlled?
2. How can we ensure that people with mental illnesses will receive the proper treatments and care they need in the future?
3. What do you think Yao's punishment should be, and how does that compare to what you predict Yao will actually receive?
Links:
Washington Post
Fox 25 Boston
ABC News
9 comments:
I do not think that there should be any restrictions on knives. Although it is sad, I do not think that the government should focus on knives because you can only do so much with a knife, whereas guns can hurt more people in a matter of seconds.
I feel the same way about knives that I feel about guns. They should be used as tools only, not weapons. There are some knives and guns whose only purpose is to hurt people (assault rifles and switch blades). Their added functions add no usefulness as a tool, but make them so much more deadly. I think the main issue both in the gun violence debate, and in this particular case is better treatment of mental health issues. There is so much stigma surrounding mental illness that people are not getting the help that they so desperately need. It sounds to me like this guy is someone who could have benefitted immensely from psychiatric intervention. Instead the warning signs were ignored, and he will have to spend the rest of his life living with the knowledge that he killed another person. It is so tragic that someone had to die here it was so preventable.
I don’t believe that knives should be treated with the same reservation that is given (or rather, should be given) to guns. Since the normal utility of knives, unlike that of guns, can be separated from their causing tragedies such as these, I see regulations on guns as much more necessary than any possible regulation on knives. However, I do believe that it would be beneficial to restrict the presence of knives in certain spaces (such as schools), as well as certain types of offensive knives such as switchblades, which I believe is already enforced in the United States. Although it is possible that this event wouldn’t have occurred if Yao had received treatment for his mental illnesses, I believe that the topic of mental illness is ultimately secondary in discussions regarding violent crimes.
I would have to agree with Sam that at least some knives ought to be treated with the same precautions as guns. However, they do happen to be more accessible due to cooking and outdoorsy purposes, so it’s much harder to regulate their usage or possession. Because they are so commonplace, it’s possible that arguments to regulate knife usage may escalate to a level of heat similar to that of the gun debate.
I cannot exactly determine what I think Yao’s punishment should be based on the information since we do not know the intent behind the stabbing, namely whether there was malicious intent behind it or not. I believe he should be held accountable for his actions because his actions cost the life of another. But, I also agree that there ought to be some way for his punishment to be modified to compensate for his mental illness, maybe through a maximum-security hospital like his attorney is pleading for. That way, he would not be in the public to commit such acts again but also be able to receive the care that he, unfortunately, did not receive for the past few years.
I think that hunting knives should also face similar restrictions as guns, as they are just as dangerous and are used for the purpose of killing, which means they are large and sharp. Right now hunting knives are pretty easy to get, like from what I can tell you can buy them on Amazon. Hunting knives should be more difficult to get, as right now if you google them you can just buy them online. So, there is a better way to make sure similar stabbings will be stopped, by controlling who can get knives. This would mean not being able to buy them online, just like you cannot buy guns online. Since Yao’s lawyer says he is mentally ill, as do his neighbors, it would make sense to argue that his mental illness clouded his judgement. I think that it makes sense to put him into a maximum security hospital, however, I feel that in court they are going to solely think about the crime and not the mental illness. In the future, mental illnesses need to be treated fairly, because most people do not understand how a mental illness can alter one’s thinking and make attacks like this easier to commit. So, the stigma around mental illnesses needs to be changed so that people with mental illnesses are able to seek treatment without judgement.
I don't think knives should be treated the same as guns. Knives have a clear utility purpose and I feel like the current restrictions are as far as restrictions should go. It's obvious that you shouldn't bring knives to school or on a plane, but the idea of having something like a background check for a knife is over the top.
With all this heated talk about gun control and violence, nothing can really be done to limit other weapons and tools. Literally anything can be used as a weapon, be it a knife, rope, a car, or even a chair. Guns are just the easiest and most efficient way to kill someone, and people do not rely on guns to take care of their daily tasks. Thus, gun control can be implemented without too much destruction to people's lives. Knives, however, are not primarily seen as a killing tool but more as a tool for cutting inanimate objects. Unlike guns, where people can kill at a safe distance, knives must be used up close. Therefore, I do not believe knives should be treated the same as guns.
On the other topic, in order to help the mentally ill, we first need to get to the cause of the problem. This problem is our lack of knowledge in treating these illnesses. The human brain is incredibly complex, and scientists are not able to completely treat people who are deranged and crazy. There is a large amount of treatments available to people who have certain mental illnesses, but success is not guaranteed. One way to stop people from being a threat to others is to basically limit them from human contact. This is definitely not the best way, but it is the easiest.
I agree with Timmy's point about knives and would like to challenge anyone who thinks knives should be regulated. We can't just go around regulating everything that could potentially kill someone. Rope can be used to hang people right? so maybe we should regulate that. Or how about we regulate the sell of pans because I bet if I hit someone on the head really hard with a pan they would get knocked out and could die. This regulation thing just seems like a slippery slope to me. What about hands? Anyone who knows a martial art knows perfectly well that their hands are an extremely dangerous weapon. Should we regulate hands as well?
If something exist it can kill you, you can't restrict everything. Knives are too essential of a tool to be restricted since everywhere in every household, city and school has knives, forks or spoons. Which they can all be used as murder weapons, I've heard news of people killing other people with crazier items than what I just mention like a hello kitty plushies. Most of the people who actually commit murder normally have a track record of having mental health issues, so the best we can do is to catch it early on and we get that person some mental help asap. Even then it's not going to be a guarantee. If there is one thing that humans hate about themselves is that we are the most unpredictable things ever.
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