Argument To Stand Trial

On the night of February 4th, police responded to a call at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. They had been shot and killed; the only other person in the home was the Wilson’s 25 year old son Edward. Subsequently Edward was arrested and charged with two counts of first degree murder. Edward was found to be incompetent to stand trial; now that he has come to the facility where I work for restoration of competency I am responsible for providing a re-evaluation of competency. Knowing Edward’s past mental issues and suicide attempt a few years back there are many things that I would need to take note of before and during the evaluation process. First I would want to obtain information from Edward’s previous doctors, specifically the one who first
Can be defined as having the capacity mentally to understand and be aware of what was happening as far as the court proceedings the defendant was involved in, as well as being able to communicate and understand information between attorneys. In order to be considered competent to stand trial there are numerous questions that the defendant would need to be able to answer and/or comprehend. Some examples of these questions would be, does the defendant understand what he or she is being charged with, and does he or she understand why? Does the defendant understand the various verdicts from the outcome of the trial, and the possible consequences of each verdict (Forensic Checklist)? There are many instruments to assist with the evaluation assessment, such as the Competency assessment instrument
Given his diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and his inability to control the symptoms without medication, along with his past incidents involving anger, rage and violence I do not think Edward would react in an appropriate manner if he was provoked or just had a violent outburst. Considering the charges of first degree murder I believe for the safety of him and others he should be deemed incompetent to stand trial. Because Edward has been found to be incompetent to stand trial, the court proceedings will be put on hold while her continues to receive treatment until his competency has been restored (Frontline, 2013). I believe with continued treatment including medication taken consistently and counseling and observation Edwards’s competency to stand trial will be restored in a few more