Evil and Mental Illness

Last week’s Charleston Massacre at Emmanuel AME Church was stunning and horrific. The whole nation is grieving for the nine who were murdered on Jun. 17, their families, the church, and our community.
Pastor and State Senator Clementa Pinckney was among the victims. He had a remarkable political career, first getting elected to the House at the age of 23 and moving up to the Senate four years later. His district went from the Savannah River to Johns Island. His service to others was notable, and at age 41, he had many years of service taken away.
Another victim was St. Andrews Regional Library manager Cynthia Hurd. I can remember her stepping up to the help desk when a line was forming and watching her assist children find books. I heard that she even assisted people with resume-writing and job searches. She trained her staff to always be courteous and helpful. It’s fitting that steps are being made to name  a library in her memory.
Emmanuel AME Church is historic. It was founded in 1816 by freeman Rev. Morris Brown. Located on Calhoun St. between Meeting and East Bay streets, it was part of the Free African Society movement to provide freed slaves with places of worship. The church is known to be a pillar of the community, which enthusiastically nurtures its members and helps those in need.
The remarkable thing is that the killer ostensibly drove in from Richland County to join the church’s Wednesday night bible study and was welcomed with open arms. That speaks to the character of Pastor Pinckney and the other members. After joining the bible study for almost an hour, the killer launched into a racist tirade and opened fire. Fortunately, there are three survivors who can testify in court about how the massacre happened.
The silver lining to this horrifying ordeal is the way our community is responding in its aftermath. Unlike Ferguson, Mo. and Baltimore, we didn’t have people stirring up anger and inciting violence. There was no rioting, looting or property destruction. We didn’t have police patrolling the streets with military vehicles and full riot gear.
What took place instead was a spontaneous prayer vigil. People of different ages, denominations, and racial backgrounds linked hands and prayed for peace. Church leaders were reminiscent of Dr. Martin Luther King, preaching about forgiveness, God’s grace and love. The peaceful response has drawn positive attention from the national news media and reflects well upon the Charleston community.
Preliminary media reports indicate that the 21-year-old killer is both hateful and disturbed. He dropped out of high school in 9th grade. He was unemployed and reportedly abused drugs. He had several arrests for inappropriate activity at a mall in Lexington County.
When I look at media photographs of the Emmanuel AME Church killer, the first thing I notice is that idle stare, a trademark expression of the mentally ill. Look up photos of the Aurora, Colo. theater shooter, the elementary school killer in Newtown, Conn. and the guy who shot Congresswoman Gabby Giffords in Arizona. They all had that same crazed look.
My nephew was a junior at Columbine High School in Colorado in 1999 when two disturbed teens went on a killing spree. They had the crazed look and a history of making inappropriate comments, yet they were never investigated by authorities.
I think through probable cause and due process, we should have a system in place to diagnose people who are mentally ill. They should receive treatment and forfeit their gun rights. We now restrict gun rights for domestic abusers and felons.
Please pray for the nine Emmanuel AME victims, their families, the church, and our community. There has always been evil in the world and many innocent lives have been taken away. Perhaps if we had a mechanism to diagnose the mentally ill, those nine magnificent people would still be serving their neighbors.
John Steinberger is the former chairman of the Charleston County Republican Party, a leading Fair Tax advocate, and a West Ashley resident. He can be reached at John.steinberger@scfairtax.org.