Pete Earley

He wasn't going to be one of those crazy people out there. So he took meds for two or three weeks, which is the therapeutic length. They quit taking them. And I thought, of course, if you have a headache, you take aspirin and it goes away, right? Well, a year later, I got a panic call from my older son in New York. And he said, come quick. Kevin is crazy.

I went up there and Kevin had been wandering around Manhattan for five days. He barely slept, barely eaten. He was convinced God had him on a special mission. So I convinced him to come back to Fairfax, Virginia, outside Washington to see where I live. And we drove to an emergency room. I didn't have a family psychiatrist.

I went up there and Kevin had been wandering around Manhattan for five days. He barely slept, barely eaten. He was convinced God had him on a special mission. So I convinced him to come back to Fairfax, Virginia, outside Washington to see where I live. And we drove to an emergency room. I didn't have a family psychiatrist.

I went up there and Kevin had been wandering around Manhattan for five days. He barely slept, barely eaten. He was convinced God had him on a special mission. So I convinced him to come back to Fairfax, Virginia, outside Washington to see where I live. And we drove to an emergency room. I didn't have a family psychiatrist.

Right before we got there, he said to me, Dad, how would you feel if someone you love killed himself? So I thought, oh my gosh, I've got to deal with this. The nurse rolled her eyes when he came in because he was talking gibberish. And then we were put in a room to wait all by ourselves. And we waited and waited and waited and waited. And then after four hours, my son said, I'm leaving.

Right before we got there, he said to me, Dad, how would you feel if someone you love killed himself? So I thought, oh my gosh, I've got to deal with this. The nurse rolled her eyes when he came in because he was talking gibberish. And then we were put in a room to wait all by ourselves. And we waited and waited and waited and waited. And then after four hours, my son said, I'm leaving.

Right before we got there, he said to me, Dad, how would you feel if someone you love killed himself? So I thought, oh my gosh, I've got to deal with this. The nurse rolled her eyes when he came in because he was talking gibberish. And then we were put in a room to wait all by ourselves. And we waited and waited and waited and waited. And then after four hours, my son said, I'm leaving.

Pills are poison. There's nothing wrong with me. Wow, that's kind of scary.

Pills are poison. There's nothing wrong with me. Wow, that's kind of scary.

Pills are poison. There's nothing wrong with me. Wow, that's kind of scary.

So I literally grabbed a doctor, Tony, and brought him in that room. And he said, I can't really help you. I said, you haven't even examined my son. He said it didn't matter. Kevin had told the nurse that he thought all pills were poison. And we'd been there for four hours. So clearly there was no immediate, imminent danger to himself or others.

So I literally grabbed a doctor, Tony, and brought him in that room. And he said, I can't really help you. I said, you haven't even examined my son. He said it didn't matter. Kevin had told the nurse that he thought all pills were poison. And we'd been there for four hours. So clearly there was no immediate, imminent danger to himself or others.

So I literally grabbed a doctor, Tony, and brought him in that room. And he said, I can't really help you. I said, you haven't even examined my son. He said it didn't matter. Kevin had told the nurse that he thought all pills were poison. And we'd been there for four hours. So clearly there was no immediate, imminent danger to himself or others.

He said, you seem like a concerned dad, bringing back after he tries to harm you or someone else. Can you imagine being in an emergency room and have a doctor tell you that?

He said, you seem like a concerned dad, bringing back after he tries to harm you or someone else. Can you imagine being in an emergency room and have a doctor tell you that?

He said, you seem like a concerned dad, bringing back after he tries to harm you or someone else. Can you imagine being in an emergency room and have a doctor tell you that?

Took my son home. He slipped out of the house early one morning, broke into a stranger's house to take a bubble bath, took five police officers to get him out. And at that point, my son became one of the 365,000 people with serious mental illness, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe and persistent depression who end up in our jails and prisons. Two million a year get booked in.

Took my son home. He slipped out of the house early one morning, broke into a stranger's house to take a bubble bath, took five police officers to get him out. And at that point, my son became one of the 365,000 people with serious mental illness, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe and persistent depression who end up in our jails and prisons. Two million a year get booked in.

Took my son home. He slipped out of the house early one morning, broke into a stranger's house to take a bubble bath, took five police officers to get him out. And at that point, my son became one of the 365,000 people with serious mental illness, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and severe and persistent depression who end up in our jails and prisons. Two million a year get booked in.

Over a million are on probation. Every jail in the United States is overcrowded with folks who have mental illnesses. It's become cliche, but it's true. The L.A. jail is the largest public mental facility in the United States, Cook County. I was so frustrated that I tried to get him help and I couldn't. And the next thing I know, he's being charged with two felonies.