Summary: The Civil Right To Illea 'Insane'

The Civil Right to plea ‘Insane'
What are the legal standards of incompetence when it comes to a trial? How mentally ill does an individual have to be to be given the ‘by reason of insanity' verdict? Frontline's documentary special, A Crime of Insanity, explores the diverging opinions of what truly constitutes a defendant's mental illness, as well as their competency of withstanding a trial. Ralph Tortorici, a mentally unstable 26-year-old, walked onto State University of New York campus along with a high-powered rifle concealed under his clothes. Tortorici seized a class seminar hostage, exclaiming that he had a computer chip implanted within his head and penis, and demanded that he speak with the President. Shortly after, the police and SWAT
However, to no avail, Tortorici refused to reach an agreement and remained barricaded within the classroom. Due to the failing negotiation pleads, a young student within the classroom rushed Tortorici and wrestled away the rifle, thus, making it go off. During the scuffle, the young student who charged Tortorici was seriously injured, and because of the thundering gunshots echoing the halls, the SWAT team stormed the room. As Ralph Tortorici was apprehended by the police, he began spastically shouting out to the crowds that now lined the campus about a conspiracy theory and a ‘government experiment.' Tortorici was sent to the Albany County prison where he was charged with fourteen counts of kidnapping, aggravated assault, and even attempted murder. After the charges were enforced, Tortorici's lawyer presented a plea of ‘not guilty by reason of insanity.' If successful, the defense's plea of NGBRI may determine if Ralph Tortorici will either be committed to the psychiatric facility in hopes of receiving long-term aid or thrown away into a
He explained that his brother was ‘straight-edge' up until the age of fifteen; that sports were the one thing that Ralph truly had an engrossed passion for. By the time Ralph Tortorici reached high school, his whole demeanor and outlook on the outside world around him drastically changed. Serious delusions began to bombard Tortorici and began to hinder his ability to live a functional and stable life. "Psychological dysfunctioning of an individual does not occur in isolation but is influenced by societal and social factors (Comer, 2016, p. 527)." Tortorici began to suspect that the police were following him and accused his family of being behind the conspiracy. He believed that there were bugs planted within the family's TV set, inside the lamps, and inside his facial razor. In addition, Tortorici was born with a malfunctioning urethra and had to go through a series of evasive surgical procedures to correct it. Thus, he believed that the government invaded his body and implanted a tracking device within his penis. The degree of Tortorici's mental instability was apparent, and his ability to coherently stand trial was the leading issue of the case. Clinicians in a courtroom setting are there to help assess the psychological incompetency that some individual presents when they are accused of a crime. In some cases, the court