Calling all Experts in Psychology! Please Help!

United States
June 10, 2008 1:40pm CST
Respond questions below after reading the story. 1. Given the information provided, what else would you want to know about Wilson?2. Who would you want to interview for collateral contact about him?3. Does he appear to meet the criteria for competency to stand trial? why or why not?4. What questions would you ask him in order to question his competency to stand trial?5. If the judge asked you on the stand to question his risk for future violence, how would you answer? The story: You are a forensic psychologist employed in the state psychiatric facility. The client was committed to your facility for restoration of competency after the judge determined him incompetent to stand trial. He has been a patient at the facility for three months, and you have been ordered by the judge to complete a new competency evaluation. According to a police report, officers responded to a reported shooting at the residence of John and Jane Wilson. When officers arrived at the scene, they observed the body of John Wilson leaning against the house on the steps that enter into the kitchen. His wife, Jane Wilson was lying with her head in her husband's lap. Both victims were bloodied and had no apparent life signs. Evidence indicated that Mrs. Wilson had been shot while sitting in the right front passenger side of her vehicle,and dragged by her feet to where her body was left lying beside her husband. The witnesses at the scene, who discovered the bodies and called police stated that they were going to the Wilson's home to visit and when they drove up,the Wilson's 25 year old son Edward came out and confronted them and told them to leave-that something has happened there and to call an ambulance. Edward Wilson was subsequently arrested and charged with two counts of first degree murder. His I.Q is in the range of mild mental retardation. He has a history of mental health treatment beginning at the age of 17, when he was hospitalized following a self-inflicted gun shot wound to the mouth. At the age of 19, he reportedly became enraged at the family dining room table and tried to choke his younger sister, while screaming at his mother that she"should have been destroyed years ago". He was again referred for mental health treatment, and presented with delusions and hallucinations. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizopherenia and put on medication, which stabiized his symptoms. Since his admission to your facility for the murder charges Wilson reported that as a teen, he discovered the "Lost Rock Creation", which "five animal faces carved into it, and he sent it to the mayor who was in the CIA" He also stated that at the time, of his parent's deaths he believed his father was in the KGB and his mother was a witch.He also admitted that at the time of the alleged murders,he was not taking his psychotropic medication. He was appointed a public defender, who met with him once for ten minutes prior to his first court appearance, the public defender asked the judge to order a compentency evaluation due to Wilson's alleged crime and past bizarre behavior. The judge subsequently ordered him to your facility for competency restoration and another evaluation. Post your answers to the questions above the story; It's only Five Questions, Please! Thanks
1 response
@shilpa_p (198)
• India
10 Jun 08
Hi im no expert but i think the information got is sufficient to say he does suffer from paranoid schizo. As for interviewing,i would interview everybody he was in contact with on a regular basis-peers,teachers,doctors and take notes from his prior mental health professional.He is not competent to stand trial since in that state of mind cooperation is out of the question.Tests are available to check competency.On the grounds of being questioned i believe i would find Edward mentally unstable and with the presence of destructive behavior i believe it would be a huge risk to leave him unattended and untreated.He's not a killer-hes just not well mentally-possibly due to a history of child abuse or no proper guidance in time of need.
@CEVCEV (543)
10 Jun 08
I think that you are right to say that he is not competent to stand trial, but I don't think that you should be assuming as to why he is mentally ill. Just the fact that he is so mentally ill should be enough to enforce a complete treatment and care plan.