By Madhuri Dey
July 15, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Democrat U.S. Representative Ed Thomas on Wednesday announced the extension of the bill that will change certain privacy policies and allow the state law enforcement officials to have a better and effective way of communication with the medical providers so that the tragedy like that of Aplington-Parksburg football coach Ed Thomas is not repeated again with any other person. In honor of the late coach the new Act has been named Ed Thomas Act by the law makers.

The new notification law that has been sent to all states will need them to notify the release of any person from the mental hospital to the state. During a press conference, Bruce Braley said that he hopes that the new law will take into consideration not only the privacy of the patients but also the security and safety concerns of the community members. He said that although it is not possible to gauge the exact steps that might have prevented the Ed Thomas tragedy last year, he hopes that the ED Thomas law will be able to prevent any further such occurrences. He said that perhaps it would have been helpful for the law enforcement agencies and people who might have been at risk from Mark Becker, to know about his release from the hospital.

Mark Becker shot dead coach Ed Thomas in June last year. The court testimony says that Mark Becker suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and thought Ed Thomas to be Satan, who tormented him. However, the court did not accept his medical grounds and on March this year he was sentenced to life in prison.