Oklahoma spends less money on its mental health system than it did the day Labor Commissioner Mark Costello died.

On Tuesday, the anniversary of his death, Costello's widow Cathy said the state's lack of investment in treatment for residents with brain disorders is heartbreaking.

“If we would focus on (mental illness), and if we would — as Benjamin Franklin said, use an ounce of prevention for a pound of cure — we could save money,” she said. “We could save millions of dollars in the long run. To me, it's relatively simple. We just have to do it.”

At a tree planting ceremony outside the Oklahoma Department of Labor building, Cathy Costello and three of her children shoveled dirt into a hole where a redbud tree will grow in honor of their slain husband and father.