Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was stabbed with a seven-inch steel letter opener. The woman who stabbed him was named Izola Ware Curry. The many Izola Ware Currys in New York today are far more likely to find themselves in jail, or relegated to street corners and subway stations, than they are to receive comprehensive treatment. This disconnect can set the stage for people with mental illness to be both victims and perpetrators of real violence. Mental illness isn’t a crime, and jail isn’t the answer for those experiencing it.

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Persons: Martin Luther King Jr, Izola Ware Curry, King, “, Ware Locations: Harlem, New York