FALL RIVER, Mass. (WPRI) — Former Fall River Mayor Will Flanagan says he's lucky to be alive after a brutal stabbing attack last month, but also argues his experience should serve as a wake-up call about gaps in the country's mental health and criminal justice systems.

"My attacker should not have been on the streets on Oct. 20," Flanagan told Target 12 in his first sit-down television interview since the attack. "There has to be a shift in policy."

Police said Corree K. Gonzales, 31, of Fall River, stabbed Flanagan multiple times in broad daylight outside Flanagan's cannabis dispensary on Hartwell Street. Flanagan spent six days on life support and is now recovering at home, with doctors saying one of the stab wounds came dangerously close to a major artery in his neck.

In the video ab

See Full Page