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Kirsten McNamara

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Kirsten McNamara

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Does Scott Panetti's mental illness excuse his crime?

The Crime Committed

Scott Panetti has had a long struggle with mental illness throughout his life. As a diagnosed schizophrenic, Panetti has been in and out of mental institutions all of his life. Panetti has been convicted of the murder of his parents in law. Goodwyn describes the actions committed previous to the murder and titles the illness 'relentless' (par 5). The court feels as if it's wrong to execute a man who is unaware of the crime committed. Panetti believes his execution is because he's preaching the gospel to other inmates and has nothing to do with his murder (par 8). What decisions will the court make?

The Mental Illness Itself

Scizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that causes a person to think and behave as out of touch with reality. In Panetti's case, his fear was the devil. There were several occasions his wife came home to him performing acts to try and prevent the devil from erupting into their lives'. Diagnosed schizophrenics often times experience intense delusions or hallucinations. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, scizophrenia is sometimes found to run in families but that may not always be the case (par 6). Therapy and even admittance is the solution to attempting to treat this illness but won't always do the trick. Even after 14 trips to the "crazy house", Panetti remained uncured and experienced little change.

The difficulty found in the court case is that typically someone convicted and proved of murder would automatically sentenced to death. Although there is proof it was Scott, as stated before, he is still unaware of his actions. As treatment has failed in the past, it looks as if Panetti will never fully be aware of the crime he committed. Maybe sentencing Scott Panetti to the death penalty seems cruel, but it would truly relieve misery. On the other hand, does Panetti deserve another try at treatment? Would this be a waste of money?

We interviewed several anonymous individuals and asked their opinion on the situation. The general public was all over the place. Several believed Panetti deserved death. Others agreed with the treatment route. A large number claimed they couldn't make a decision based off of solely the facts and no other background information/ knowing the killer himself. This all makes the situation even more difficult. No matter what decision made, some group of individuals will not be happy about it. Pleasing the entire public is impossible.

As for Scott Panetti, his trial outcome remains unknown. The court hopes to have a decision within the next few months. The governor is involved and promises the best decision for Panetti and his family will be provided. As the fate of murderer Scott Panetti is determined, how is his family holding up? As he murdered his wife's parents, is she angry or afraid? Get it all here at Ap Lang News 17 next week. Weekly updates on the court case are planned to be provided.

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Design and share beautiful flyers just like this one! Spread the word with an online flyer. They're easy to make and impossible to mess up :) Does Scott Panetti's mental illness excuse his crime? Scott Panetti has had a long struggle with mental illness throughout his life.

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Kirsten McNamara

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Kirsten McNamara