Cho Seung-Hui and Mental Illness

Cho, the Virginia Tech gunman, likely had schizophrenia that could have been addressed much earlier. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual IV (1994) used by psychiatrists to diagnose mental illness, the following paragraph appears on Page. 287:

"The essential feature of the Paranoid Type of Schizophrenia is the presence of prominent delusions or auditory hallunications in the context of a relative preservation of cognitive functioning and affect...Delusions are typically persecutory or grandiose, or both, but delusions with other themes (e.g., jealousy, religiosity, or somatization) may also occur...Associated features include anxiety, anger, aloofness, and argumentativeness. The individual may have a superior or patronizing manner or either a stilted, formal quality or extreme intensity in interpersonal interactions. The persecutory themes may predispose the individual to suicidal behavior, and the combination of persecutory and grandiose delusions with anger may predispose the individual to violence."

This young man should have been on anti-psychotic medications. Possibly, given his violent tendencies, he should have been a state forensic hospital. Usually I like Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, but he decided to go with this whole "evil" bent, instead of a critically considered analysis of what happened and the lessons that should be learned.