don't let the door hit'cha where the good lord split'cha

[redxblack]

Disclaimer: I used to do forensic psychiatry in the Texas prison system.

Different jurisdictions use different standards for competency to stand trial, competency at the time of the offense, competency for sentencing, and so on. Some use very strict standards (such as not knowing right from wrong) while others use less-strict ones. Mens rea is an element of any crime, AFAIK, not just capital ones.

I think it'd be hard to show that volitional and cognitive components were lacking in a case where a specialized shooting platform was built in the trunk of a car, showing intent, and attempts were made to hide who shot and to evade law enforcement, showing a knowledge that others would view the act as wrong. As I understand it, Virginia also requires that a mental illness must be the primary cause of the criminal behavior, not just a contributing factor. That's a pretty high hurdle to clear.

Let's put it this way: I see mentally ill people all day, every day. Some of them are pretty darned crazy. Only a teeny percentage of them have ever broken a law apart from parking tickets. Those that have usually get in trouble for trespassing or "disturbing the peace." By far the most dangerous patients I've ever worked with are elderly people with dementias such as Alzheimer's.

Bad people are about as likely as the rest of us to have a mental illness. Whether they have one or not doesn't change that they're bad people.

Thanks. I didn't know what Virginia's standards are today, so that's pretty helpful information. Reuters had this:

Sheldon said that a psychiatrist has diagnosed Muhammad as "psychotic,
delusional and paranoid and that he suffers from schizophrenia."

"This diagnosis" said Sheldon, "is confirmed by objective evidence." Sheldon
said that neuropsychological brain imaging applications have demonstrated that
John Muhammad has neuropsychological deficits that are consistent with
schizophrenia, and point to "brain dysfunction."

That may sustain a detachment from reality, but not a "knowing right from wrong" standard.

[mstevens]

That may sustain a detachment from reality, but not a "knowing right from wrong" standard.

Nor the inability to control one's actions.

Let's stipulate that he meets diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia (which, from what I've read might be a bit of a stretch, but whatever). Neuropsychological testing, imaging studies, etc. are absolutely unable to establish a diagnosis of schizophrenia no matter how "objective" they may be. The reason his attorney comes up with these bits of evidence is that's all they have to go on. The diagnosis has clear and concrete criteria, none of which can be established by the tests mentioned. If he met the actual diagnostic criteria, that's what should be announced, not these irrelevant tests. However, I'm willing to postulate that he might actually have schizophrenia.

Is there any evidence that his acts were the result of schizophrenia or any other form of psychosis? Has he said there were voices ordering him to shoot people? That he believed his victims were demons in disguise and that he needed to shoot them to save the world? I've found nothing that says so. That makes me suspect that, if he is schizophrenic, it has little to do with his murderous behavior. Really psychotic people who have trouble testing reality and controlling their behavior have a hard time getting guns ("I'm going Martian-hunting. What gauge is best for that?"), driving licenses (arguing with invisible forces while waiting in the line at DMV) or recruiting accomplices (people tend to be put off by nut-cases). They often aren't that hard to catch because they look and act weird compared with others.

Yes, a disproportionate number of multiple homicide perpetrators (Mohammad is a spree killer, not a serial killer) carry diagnoses of schizophrenia. There are a few reasons for that. One is that in the past people were practically "schizophrenic until proven otherwise" and easily misdiagnosed by modern criteria. These guys tend to spend lots of time meeting with shrinks of various sorts compared with the general population, so that raises the chance of having a diagnosis assigned. Another factor is that schizophrenia is relatively common, affecting a bit over 1% of the population at any given time. There's also overlap between conditions such as Antisocial Personality Disorder ("sociopathy" or "psychopathy") and schizophrenia in terms of symptoms. Of course, there's also the hope on the part of defense or the accused that schizophrenia will somehow count as a "get out of jail free" card.

Basically, we know full well that having a mental illness does not generally cause people to commit violent crimes except when someone is charged with a serious act of violence. At that point, we're asked to believe nearly 100% of the time that some mental illness or other is to blame ("the debbil made him do it"). I just don't buy it.

[ZLTFUL]

IMO lethal injection is too gentle for this guy...

I dunno...it may be just about right if you consider it in this light...that the injection comes from some big black prison gangster named Tiny with an 11 inch dong while wearing a chain mail condom covered in razorblades and spikes and using rubbing alcohol and habanero pepper juice for lube. Then I think lethal injection is JUST about right.

[redxblack]

mstevens -
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. It's helpful insight for sure.

[Speedbag]

Yep, lethal injection was way too pleasant. 

Why it took seven years for us to rid ourselves of this asshole is another topic altogether.....