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Larry Robison had a pretty normal up bringing. He was born into a middle-class family on August 12, 1957. Growing up, he was a good student, played in little league, was on the swim team, and in the high school band. His parents began to notice unusual behaviors by the time Larry was in junior high, which they attributed to experimental drug use. His family took him to numerous crisis centers and psychologists to find out what was wrong, but this effort resulted in an incorrect diagnosis. It was not until Larry was 21 years old that he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. However, because his parents insurance no longer covered him, he was quickly discharged from Kansas University Medical Center.
After taking him to two other hospitals for help, his parents were repeatedly told that he could not stay for treatment longer than 30 days because he was “not violent” and the hospitals “needed the bed.” One of the facilities admitted to Larry’s parents that his condition was very serious and it would only worsen without treatment but there was nothing they could do because he was “not violent.” Adding to the tragedy Larry was denied care at various hospitals, the doctors did not have Larry sign a release when he left the last hospital, which prevented him from getting medication at the Fort Worth, Texas Mental Health / Mental Retardation offices. The doctors also neglected to inform Larry’s parents that without this much needed medication, Larry would be unable to cope. Tirelessly, his family continued their attempts to get Larry help, and consistently they were told by the hospitals, “Unless he does something violent, there’s nothing we can do."
After being ignored by the system in all of their attempts for help, Larry’s family faced the unimaginable. Larry had murdered five people in one night. His family was horrified, but they thought that because of his “violence” he would be committed to a hospital and would be able to get the help that he...