Should a severely mentally ill (schizo.) person who committed murder be sentenced to death or something else?
The Supreme Court wisely said mentally ill people cannot get the death penalty. However, I think that people who go off meds and then commit murder are different. I think people who need meds to that degree, who have been psychiatrically labeled a danger to society, need to be forced to take their meds or be locked up in a psychiatric ward. But I speak from experience–sort of. A roommate went manic, and the sheriff said they could do nothing until he became dangerous. I had to wait until he picked up a hammer and began smashing things and threatening me until the sheriff would come. That is a ridiculous standard. But it was the first time he ever had psychiatric problems, so if he had killed me, I’d say the legislators who prevented the sheriff from acting should be sentenced to death.
