The head of Italy's centre-left bloc has hit an impasse in his efforts to form a government and said only a mentally ill person would want to govern Italy now.

BBC: Italy Bersani: PM job 'only for mentally ill'

Once on the streets, and with only meagre health care, it is often only a matter of time before a mentally ill person commits a crime and is sent to jail.

ECONOMIST: Mental illness

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity Sane, said every violent incident involving a mentally ill person would inevitably call into question the policy of care in the community.

BBC: NEWS | Health | Most mentally ill pose no threat

But a leading expert with the National Board of Health, claimed Mijailovic was seriously mentally ill - a view the appeals court shared, describing the killer as a "traumatised person with significant psychiatric problems".

BBC: NEWS | Europe | Doctors split over mind of a killer