There is a feeling of apprehension among Eau Claire residents after a killer was released from a mental institution to an area group home – apprehension that even local authorities and the killer’s parents feel. These fears send a resounding message of why this man should not be allowed in this community.

Rock County Judge Michael Byron decided Wednesday to release 44-year-old Mark Staskal from the Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison and place him in a group home on Eau Claire’s south side, according to WISC-TV.

Staskal, who will live a short distance from Oakwood Mall at the Bernice & Genieve Foundation, 3806 Woodcrest Court, was rejected by 16 other group homes throughout the state.

Under the release conditions Byron set, Staskal will be under 24-hour surveillance and monitored by an ankle bracelet.

Although it has been 23 years since his arrest for stabbing his 16-year-old sister to death and receiving a not-guilty-by-reason-of-mental-disease verdict, Staskal should stay at Mendota where it seems they have the resources available to treat him for his mental illness.

The judge who handled Staskal’s case previously denied all 10 of Staskal’s petitions for release in the past. Byron, who joined the case after the previous judge retired, made a mistake in releasing Staskal. The community would not find itself in this situation if the previous judge had not retired. It seems odd that the judge would release him, especially when his parents feel Staskal will kill again and the Eau Claire authorities feel Staskal will be a threat to the community, according to the article. Who better to judge Staskal than his own parents, who were on Staskal’s hit list when he was arrested?

Granted, full details of what his psychologist recommended are unknown, but we should not give him the benefit of the doubt.

It comes down to which facility gives him the best treatment for his disease and keep him secure from harming others.

This is not about one man. This is about a community.