WASHINGTON — In an interview that aired Sunday, Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds spoke out about his son’s suicide after he violently attacked his father in November.
Gus Deeds suffered from mental illness.
Deeds told 60 Minutes Virginia’s mental health system is to blame for the attack.
In the interview with CBS’s Scott Pelley, Deeds discusses how no beds were available in the state’s psychiatric hospitals and how because of Virginia laws, the state was required to release Gus after six hours.
“I really don’t want Gus to be defined by his illness. I don’t want Gus to be defined by what happened on the (Nov.) 19th. Gus was a great kid. He was a perfect son. It’s clear the system failed. It’s clear that failed Gus, it killed Gus,” he says in the interview.
RELATED STORIES:
- Governor appoints mental health task force
- Deeds blames mental-health system for son’s death
- Gus Deeds remembered as friendly, talented musician
- Police believe Va. senator was stabbed by son
Follow @WTOP on Twitter.
