http://pr.cannazine.co.uk : A schizophrenic who had told at least one doctor he had an "abnormal interest in girls who died and were dismembered", was discharged by a senior hospital psychiatrist, against the advice of other doctors and the man's own family, a medical tribunal heard yesterday.
Dr Eric Birchall, 70, released bodybuilder Mark Corner into the community, telling GPs he posed little risk to the public.
But a year later 29 year old Corner, who smoked cannabis and had a history of violence, killed and butchered two prostitutes in two seperate incidents.
Its another tragic story which includes loss of life, and in violent circumstances. But is cannabis to blame? Or did the system which is in place to protect the public from situations like this, simply fail, and the fact cannabis is in the news made it an easy hook to hang this story on?
Mark Corner
I would say thay was exactly what happened as later on in the story there were some further circumstances which the writer buried deep in the article.
For instance, a hearing of the General Medical Council in Manchester was told that Corner, who had mental health problems from the age of 12, had been sectioned in 2002 after trying to stab a female neighbour with a kitchen knife.
Experts had also previously concluded he was likely to become dangerous if he went back to using alcohol, cannabis and cocaine and a mental health tribunal ruled that Corner, from Everton in Merseyside, should not be released.
Within a fortnight of being released into the community, Corner had taken an overdose of paracetamol. He also told doctors he had stopped taking medication for his schizophrenia and had begun drinking and smoking cannabis.
Corner's father had even pleaded with the doctors to readmit his son, but again Corner was discharged.
In the months before the killings he missed two of three outpatient appointments and was seen just once by his GP. He also admitted taking up to 70 Ecstasy tablets a week and hearing voices again.
Quite clearly this is a man who should never have been released into the community in the first place, and two lives have been lost as a result in whats turned out to be a desperately tragic situation, but trying to make an anti-cannabis story out of it also smacks of desperate measures.
And what of Dr Eric Birchall? The doctor who OK'd the release of Mark Corner?
An inquiry said Dr Birchall had committed "grave errors of judgment" when he discharged Corner. His claim that the risk was "low" was "inaccurate and misleading".
Yesterday, Craig Sephton, for the GMC, told the tribunal: "It is not part of my case to say that Dr Birchall was responsible for those murders but it is our job to find out what happened.
"We suggest that he did not devise an adequate care plan. We say that Dr Birchall did not adjust the care plan to accommodate the new features of the case."
If found guilty of misconduct Dr Birchall, who no longer works for the Mersey Care NHS Trust, could be struck off the medical register and banned from practising.
But next time the government are looking for anti-cannabis statistics you can be sure this story will be amongst them.
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