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Monday, November 01, 2004

MEANWHILE, BACK IN THE RED STATES…


The Therapeutic Arming of Schizophrenics: A Debate


' Shooting Prompts Debate Over Mentally Ill and Guns

Family says man accused of killing dad not violent

By Leigh Dethman
Deseret Morning News [October 12, 2004]


Ben Gully loves the outdoors. It's a form of medication no doctor can prescribe.

It was only natural that Ben's father would agree to go hunting with him Saturday night. Ben, who was diagnosed with mental illness in 2002, begged his dad to let him go.

That therapeutic hunting trip turned tragic Saturday night when Ben Gully, 19, allegedly shot and killed his father, James Gully, 61, from point-blank range.

The fatal shooting has prompted the question of mental health experts about why a man with a documented mental illness was allowed to hold a loaded shotgun. But Dr. David Tomb, a University of Utah School of Medicine psychiatry professor, said hunting could have been beneficial to Ben's treatment.

"To make a blanket statement that somebody with severe mental illness is reason enough for them to have all the guns locked up and unable to hunt, that is probably doing a disservice to those individuals because sometimes that kind of activity with peers and family can be very helpful," Tomb said. Gully remains in the Davis County Jail for investigation of criminal homicide. Davis County Chief Deputy Attorney Bill McGuire said his office is currently screening the charges.

Witnesses told police they heard gunshots, followed by screams and shouts of profanity. A group of hunters ran toward the scene, and Ben Gully screamed for help. When asked if the shooting was an accident, the young man reportedly said, " 'No, he just wouldn't shut up and I shot him,' " said Matt Heidrich, who was hunting nearby.

"He was so anxious," said Kim Hawes, a close friend of the family and the director of an education program at Utah's National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. "Ben is such a loving, loving boy. He loved his dad."

Doctors first diagnosed Gully with a mental illness in December 2002 after he had his first psychotic breakdown, Hawes said. Doctors have struggled to pinpoint exactly what mental illness he suffered from.

"Mental illness is such a devastating disease, especially until you get a handle on it," Hawes said. "It's like any disease — you don't know until you've gone through or had a loved one go through it to know what it's like."

Gully and his mother, Mary Gully, attended NAMI's Bridges for Youth, a class geared for 16- to 26-year-old mental illness sufferers about the biology of the brain, coping skills and medications. Mary Gully became so actively involved she started teaching the class.

Doctors were working with Gully to find what medication would work to control his illness, Hawes said. Hawes said his mother told her, "I didn't even see the signs of a psychotic event coming." But knowing exactly what triggers a psychotic event is nearly impossible, Hawes said.

The family is dealing with a "double loss" and maintains Gully loved and adored his father.

"We have always feared that he might harm himself, but never ever thought he would be capable of harming others," Gully's stepmother, Janice Perry Gully, wrote in a statement. "All of us know that it was not Ben who harmed his father, but the illness itself." '