George Harrison: Apologies Issued to Beatle, Attacker

It was only two years ago that George Harrison and his wife were brutally attacked in their home in the middle of the night by a man wielding a knife he had taken from their kitchen. That man was Michael Abram, a paranoid schizophrenic who had apparently fallen through the cracks of the mental health system in England. A recently published report cited numerous oversights and blatant mishandling of the Abram case by healthcare facilities at all levels. The sharply critical report said workers at the British hospitals and clinics that saw Michael Abram failed to properly assess and treat him.

"We wish to make a full and formal apology to George Harrison and his family and to Michael Abram and his family for the failures in Mr. Abram's care and treatment prior to the appalling events of December 1999,'' said a statement issued by the St. Helens and Knowsley Health Authority and Hospitals National Health Service Trust. The report went on to state that, "We wish to reassure the Harrison and Abram families that lessons have been learned."

Abram, currently being treated in a mental health facility for his disorder, issued a statement that addressed the report's findings and expressed concern that the specific individuals responsible for his inadequate treatment were not identified. "Unless they're put on the spot, how can we be sure they won't make the same mistakes again?'' his statement said. George Harrison has not issued a public comment regarding the findings of the report or the apology from the health officials. The former Beatle has been in the news earlier in the summer after receiving treatment at a Swiss clinic for an undisclosed illness.