The Psychology of Victims and Punishment of Offenders Term Paper

The Psychology of Victims and Punishment of Offenders - Term Paper Example Therefore, it transpires that the person undergoing a trial needs to be in a competent state of mind for standing trial and this covenant should form the basis of criminal jurisprudence. The Sixth Amendment confer on defendants the right to seek counsel to assess their competency and in major cases, the defense also includes mitigation specialists, who have â€Å"the ability to elicit sensitive, embarrassing and often humiliating evidence (example: family sexual abuse) that defendant may never have disclosed† (ABA Guidelines, 2003, p.959). Thus, before making a final conclusion about the competency of Edward Wilson, to stand trial, I would like to get a clarification of the following aspects: (a) Did Edward Wilson have any traumatic experience when he was a child and if he did, what was it? (b) Has there been any such instance in Edward’s behavior before the age of 17 and if so, what treatment the parents have offered him? (c) Was he born with a deficiency in IQ and has it been registered throughout his developmental stages? If so, what are the measures his parents have taken to remedy the issue? Has he been provided any special education? (d) At the age of 17 did he not take proper medication, which aggravated his condition and later he become schizophrenic. It looks like his parents have not taken adequate care in attending to his medication, due to which his condition worsened. Also, there is no indication that his paranoia has been properly treated by seeking expert advice. Therefore, I would request more information on this aspect to investigate the case completely. (e) How did his parents treat him before he suffered from paranoia and what changes were there after his disease surfaced? Has Wilson received adequate support from his family during the illness phase? (f) Had there been some serious problems other than usual sibling rivalry between him and his younger sister? (g) Which school and college did he go to? How was his behavior there a nd how did the people there treat him? (h) Who were his friends and how did he behave with them? How was his relation with his neighbors and peers? II. In order to evaluate the case in its full perspective and determine his fitness or otherwise to stand trial, I would like to interview more people for collateral contact about him: (a) The subject’s younger sister is his only living kin and the only person who is close enough to throw light into the back history of the family as well as their mutual relationship. (b) He makes association with the ‘lost rock of creation’ which seems to have a religious connotation. He sends a rock, with five animal faces carved into it, to the mayor, who was in the CIA. I believe the aspect of his attacking his younger sibling within the pretext remains to be explored fully. These aspects need to be determined to count or discount before he is sent to a full trial. (c) Besides, he makes reference to his father being a KGB agent and his mother a witch. I would like to interview all the psychologists or psychiatrists who were involved with his case or who treated him so far to understand his case and make proper evaluation. (d) I would like to meet Wilson’s defense counsel and ascertain from all the information he or she has about his client. (e) Besides, I would also like to interview the following people: 1. The principals and teachers of all the schools he has attended during his childhood into his adolescence. 2. The friends Wilson had during his