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Understanding Competence and Legal Responsibility in Minors and the Mentally Ill

This discussion explores the concepts of competence and unfitness, focusing on how society assesses these traits. What standards are used to determine if someone is unfit or incompetent? Using the case of Nathaniel Brazill, a young boy convicted of murder, we analyze when minors are treated as adults in the legal system and the implications of mental health on legal decisions. The conversation also delves into the ethical considerations surrounding individual autonomy for those deemed unfit, highlighting the balance between safety and freedom.

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Understanding Competence and Legal Responsibility in Minors and the Mentally Ill

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Presentation Transcript

  1. What determines “unfit?” • What makes someone unfit or incompetent in your mind?

  2. Incompetent • Is the daughter in the video “incompetent?” • How and why would you make that assessment? What is your criteria? • If you were on the jury of the mother with the daughter with Schizophrenia, how would you rule? Why? • Are you infringing on her freedom or allowing her to choose her fate?

  3. No threat • If she is not harming anyone is there an issue? • Why are people placed in institutions if they have no criminal history? • Does the lawyer have a responsibility to his client after the courts have ruled?

  4. Age of consent • What is the age of consent? Why? • Are there times that people under 18 are viewed as adults? If so when and why? • Are there times when adults or people over 18 are not viewed as adults?

  5. Children tried as adults • From Time Magazine: When a child kills, does he instantly become an adult? Or does he maintain some trappings of childhood, despite the gravity of his actions? • Nathaniel Brazill looks back at his mother after being found guilty of killing his English teacher.

  6. Nathaniel Brazill • 14-year-old Nathaniel Brazill was found guilty of second-degree murder for killing his English teacher last year. • The charge usually carries a prison term of up to 30 years • He is just one of many minors charged as an adult. • Did he know what he was doing?

  7. Homework • Friday - text – 382-385 (Opinion in Canterbury V. Spence) Court case. Read and summarize for class on Friday. Must be typed and ready for submission IN class. • See you Friday!

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