Kelsey Patterson was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic in
1981. He was involved in two non-fatal shootings, and on both
occasions was deemed unfit to stand trial by dint of mental
illness. Then in 1992 he shot and killed two people in Palestine,
Texas.
This time, though psychiatrists agreed he was schizophrenic and
was under the delusion that he was being controlled through alien
implants in his brain, he was deemed fit to be tried and put on
death row.
In an exceptionally rare turn, the Texas Board of Pardons and
Paroles, a panel appointed by the governor that is almost always
hardline on executions, recommended that his death sentence be
commuted to life in prison because of his mental illness.
The judge ignored the advice and sentenced him to death saying
that he is a very violent individual and this needs to be done in
the interest of the security of the general public.
Many people are simply born with defects to their brain that
cause them to act a certain way. No amount of drugs, schooling,
rehabilitation, or positive reinforcement will change them.
Although it is technically unconstitutional to put a mentally ill
patient to death, the rules can be vague, and you still need to be
able to convince a judge and jury that the defendant is in fact,
mentally ill.
Even when a suspect is deemed mentally ill, as long as he or
she passes the reality test, that suspect should be held criminally
responsible.
I believe that people with Mental Illness should not be exempt
from the death penalty. People should be aware of their mental
illness. They can't use this as a loophole to escape capital
punishment. However, if they are excused , then nobody is getting
the death penalty. While mental illness is a serious problem and a
medical problem that should be addressed, far too many criminals
(and especially their lawyers) attempt to use mental illness as an
out or an excuse for committing a crime.
In this particular case,the man fatally shot people,and was
maybe delusional,which I suppose if was clearly identified then
maybe he could be put into rehabilition but killing of innocent
people because one is mentally ill does deserve punishment if not
death penalty. If he was pretending to be schizophrenic,then death
penalty decision was right for him.