@Yellowdog They may show some delusional or aggressive tendencies, but does that mean they are dangerous with a deadly weapon? There is really no way to predict an outcome like this.
Exactly. And while people with schizophrenia (who are not taking medication) are often delusional, there are several types of schizophrenia, only one of which is actually dangerous. That’s the paranoid type. It’s not that they’re aggressive, it’s that they’re afraid of people who may be out to get them (in their mind) and they’re behaving DEfensively rather than OFFensively.
While I condemn his actions, I feel bad for him, also. If he IS schizophrenic and IF he had gotten help, his life could have been completely different. As it is, he’ll be found guilty, spend 10–15 miserable years on death row, then eventually be put to death. The prison psychiatrist might prescribe meds for him, but I don’t know which would be worse – not being on meds and experiencing delusions, hallucinations and paranoia, or being on meds and having my brain become “normal”, at which point I would have a full understanding of what I had done and could visualize a different life if I’d been medicated for my mental illness.