Of course…the old “the government made me do it” defense. Are we really supposed to believe that the only way this guy could help himself was by committing a crime?  Rubbish. It’s a nice story, but nobody is asking whether Mr. Verone exhausted all of his available options before he made his decision to cause mayhem and put people at risk. None of the published reports I’ve read about this says anything about him applying for assistance under a state medical aid program (which North Carolina does have), just food stamps. So, it’s the government’s fault he made the choice he did?  Sounds like some of the urban legends we used to read about senior citizens being forced to eat cat food because the Republicans cut their Social Security.

He says he “doesn’t want to be a burden on his brothers and sisters", but I note that he has no problem whatsoever with being a burden to society. Now the taxpayers get to foot the bill for not only his medical care, but for the expense of processing him though the already overburdened criminal justice system. What if the teller he frightened had gone into cardiac arrest and died—and all because this clown wanted to make a political point?