Stabbed Va. Senator: I Survived 'for a Reason'

Creigh Deeds blames Community Services Board in attack
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 26, 2013 9:56 AM CST
Creigh Deeds: I Survived 'for a Reason'
This Feb. 1, 2010 file photo shows Virginia State Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Bath.   (AP Photo/Steve Helber, File)

Creigh Deeds, released from the hospital, is speaking out after his son stabbed him before committing suicide. "I am alive for a reason, and I will work for change," Deeds tells the Recorder newspaper, via the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "I owe that to my precious son." Deeds' new goal, per NPR, is "to make sure other families don't have to go through what we are living." Amid controversy over whether officials did enough to try to get Gus Deeds into a psychiatric institution, his father is blunt.

"I have very strong opinions about the CSB, and feel like they are responsible," he tells the Recorder, referring to the Rockbridge Area Community Services Board, tasked with screening those whose mental health issues may pose safety concerns. There are 39 other such boards statewide, the Times-Dispatch notes. "I hope we can make a positive change as a result of this tragedy," Deeds says, via Politico. "I hope the justice we can get for my son is to force change in the delivery system for mental health services." In the meantime, the senator openly admits he's struggling: "I cry a lot," he says. "I can’t focus now and talk to anyone." (More Creigh Deeds stories.)

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