Insanity in the courtroom. Mental illness and the search for justice
Description
If a person is deemed mentally unfit to stand trial for a capital crime, should the state be allowed to administer drugs so the person is healthy enough to be tried and sentenced to death? In this program, ABC News correspondent Chris Bury reports on this legal paradox in the case of Russell Weston, a paranoid schizophrenic who allegedly killed two policemen in 1998 and whose lawyers have kept him from medication. The issue is debated by a panel of experts including retired circuit court judge Vincent Femia, forensic psychologist Barbara Kirwin, George Mason University legal scholar Paul Stavis, former federal prosecutor Christopher Tayback, and the defense attorney for Long Island Rail Road shooter Colin Ferguson, Ron Kuby.
Runtime
23 min
Subjects
Geography
Genre
Date of Publication
[2006], c2001
Database
Films on Demand
Direct Link
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