Ralph Tortorici's Case Study

Comorbidity, when someone has more than one condition, is very common when someone suffers from mental illness and substance abuse (Whitbourne & Halgin, 2013). Ralph Tortorici had a substance abuse problem and was diagnosed with extreme depression, fixed delusion accompanied by suspiciousness, delusional disorder, and with schizophrenic paranoid type. He was deemed incompetent to stand trial by a court appointed psychiatrist. He was later deemed competent to stand trial because his condition seemed to improve while he was in a psychiatric ward. To be competent in the state of New York, he must understand the charges against him, and help in his own defense (Frontline, 2014).
Considering Ralph Tortorici’s behavior and diagnosis, I feel that

he was not competent to stand trial. The article talks about how hard it was for the prosecutors to find a psychiatrist to say he was competent to stand trial and the majority of those who did evaluated him, felt he was not competent (Frontline, 2014). Considering his history of insane behavior and diagnosis, the fact that how he was behaving showed a pattern of someone who was delusional, and the doctors who said he was not competent, I do not believe that justice was delivered in this case. He needed to be in a psychiatric hospital where he would receive the help he needed. I would suggest that the laws be changed to have a panel of doctors who are unanimous, and untouchable by the court or defense attorneys, exam the defendant and decide by majority vote if they are competent to stand trial. This way we can have experts who are well versed, and not trying to earn a paycheck from a defense attorney, make a non-biased determination. I believe his prosecution was vehemently pursued because of the pressure from the victims and public to punish Ralph for his crimes. Anytime there is a crime carried out at a school, the community feels violated and demands justice. The district attorneys are elected by their communities and are motivated to serve and please to keep up the approval rating.