Competent for the Death Penalty Defendants who are unfit to stand on trial are usually prohibited from criminal prosecution and their trial is postponed until the person is deemed competent to stand on trial. These defendants that are found psychiatrically incompetent for trial are usually sent to a psychiatric treatment facility and will be treated to regain competence. What if the defendant is already found guilty and is on death row but before facing the death penalty the defendant is believed to be incompetent? Should the government allow the defendant to be treated then allow him to face the death penalty? This was the case with Charles Laverne Singleton
Argument
Charles Laverne Singleton was found guilty for the murder of a grocery clerk in 1979 and was sentenced to death. While awaiting the death penalty, Singleton’s mental capacity began to deteriorate. Can someone be treated for incompetency then be put to death? This was the argument that stood out in the Singleton’s case. The public had mixed feelings about this case but the federal appeals court made their decision on February 11, 2003. “The federal appeals court ruled that officials in Arkansas can force a prisoner on death row to take antipsychotic medication to make him sane enough to execute because of the Supreme Court decision that prohibits the execution of the insane” (Liptak 2003). Authorities are allowed to give antipsychotic medication to insane death row prisoners so they are able to know and understand that the bad decisions they have made has now resulted in their death. This decision will indeed pave the way for others that are in the same situation as Singleton.
My Position When someone is born into this world, it is easy to make assumptions that “this baby will be a doctor, or this baby will be a famous actress.” We hardly hear the assumptions such as “this