Scott Panetti was scheduled to be executed December 3rd of this year for the murder of his father and mother-in-laws in 1992. Before the crime, Panetti was hospitalized 14 times, suffering from schizophrenia. Both the medical and court systems are said to have failed him. " Execution gains us nothing; we must confront America's failing on mental illness" - Ron Powers of CNN
I agree the execution of this man does not cover America's failure of dealing with the mentally ill. Instead, America needs to realize that keeping a close eye on the mentally ill has its benefits (less murders). Execution shouldn't even be a thing because it goes against our Constitution. Enough incidents such as these have shown where the problem is and how it should be better solved. It's time for a better solution.
http://us.cnn.com/2014/12/02/opinion/powers-texas-execution/?cid=ob_articlesidebarall&iref=obnetwork
There is such an issue with the justice system for the mentally ill, they help them until they are able to stand trial. Then they get out, only to be arrested again and start the whole cycle over. This nation needs to develop a plan on how to handle mentally ill patients and improve their living conditions in jail. In Miami they have a special task force trained in dealing with maniac episodes, this has drastically deceased the deaths of mentally ill patients in miami. Their are many things wrong with the system right now, and we can only hope that they come up with a new program soon.
ReplyDeleteThis ma should not have been even put on death row. We need to treat mental illness rather then shove it into the prison system where these people will not get the help they so desperately need.
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