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Attacking people with a knife seems to show they're at least not mentally well. Although the mental illness excuse is only allowed for white people I think.
There's a risk of stigmatising people with mental illness as prone to violence, which is an inaccurate portrayal. However, if an offence was a direct result of the perpetrator's mental illness, then they get dealt with under Part 4 of the Mental Health Act. This usually involves compulsory treatment in secure psychiatric hospital, followed by very long term community supervision. It is very far from 'an excuse'.
dave4-
It is very far from 'an excuse'.
I think that what snotters is referring to is the media trend that assumes that Generic Brown People kill others because they are innately violent or extremist, and that white people are assumed to kill others because they have transient mental health issues but are otherwise good eggs. Mental health issues could happen to any one of us (so long as you're white, natch!), and killing people can be partially excused by the media using "mental illness" as a proxy for whiteness. That narrative is a privilege that's rarely afforded to non-white killers.
bothwell
Attacking people with a knife seems to show they're at least not mentally well. Although the mental illness excuse is only allowed for white people I think.