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Joan Becker speaks out

In June of 2009, Joan Becker’s son Mark shot and killed Aplington-Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas. For several weeks this year, the Becker and Thomas families were in the spotlight as Mark went on trial and was convicted of first degree murder. Psychiatrists who testified at the trial diagnosed him with schizophrenia. Once the trial was over, Joan Becker could have disappeared from the public eye, instead she’s speaking out about mental illness. She talks with IPR’s Pat Blank

Pat Blank is the host of All Things Considered