Colin Ferguson
The trial of Colin Ferguson in the mid-1990’s is a notable case study for analyzing the impact of race and mental health in the criminal justice system and how the combination of those can cause the court to become, at least partially, biased.
I.
Colin Ferguson was charged and convicted of 6 counts of murder and 19 counts of attempted murder after he was captured for shooting passengers on a Long Island Rail Road train on December 7th, 1993. Colin Ferguson, 36 at the time, was a well-educated, middle-class Jamaican immigrant. After immigrating to the U.S, he became increasingly frustrated with the status of black individuals in American society. His marriage ended due to different worldviews and aggression, and he was reported …show more content…
It can sometimes take the State months if not years to do so. Colin Ferguson is atypical in that he ignored three attorney’s advice to try for an insanity plea. The media saw this man as mentally incompetent, while also seemingly predicting his guilt (which is not atypical for a case such as this). The judge used his discretion in ruling the Ferguson mentally competent, and it was considered by the media to be a questionable decision. Based on his behavior and the determinations of some of the witness of the trial, Ferguson should not have been standing trial and defending …show more content…
Most sources do not mention all of the different identities that Colin Ferguson was, and his mental capacity or lack thereof is the lasting legacy, aside from the victims. Ferguson was an immigrant who had been well-off. Coming to the U.S, he lost his status and was thrust into a world of racial tension that he did not understand and was frustrated by. This was evident during the trial by his demeanor and helps to explain his aggression in his prior arrests, a failed marriage, and paranoia of white people. His nationality ties into his race and as a black man experienced prejudice against him. His lawyers wanted him to presume guilt to use the “black rage” defense and his race and immigration could have factored into the ruling on mental capacity. And finally, he was seen as this crazed defendant with erratic behavior in the courtroom, but he did not believe he was crazy. It allowed for the public to view him as someone who should not be representing themselves, but also who was overwhelmingly
The trial of Colin Ferguson in the mid-1990’s is a notable case study for analyzing the impact of race and mental health in the criminal justice system and how the combination of those can cause the court to become, at least partially, biased.
I.
Colin Ferguson was charged and convicted of 6 counts of murder and 19 counts of attempted murder after he was captured for shooting passengers on a Long Island Rail Road train on December 7th, 1993. Colin Ferguson, 36 at the time, was a well-educated, middle-class Jamaican immigrant. After immigrating to the U.S, he became increasingly frustrated with the status of black individuals in American society. His marriage ended due to different worldviews and aggression, and he was reported …show more content…
It can sometimes take the State months if not years to do so. Colin Ferguson is atypical in that he ignored three attorney’s advice to try for an insanity plea. The media saw this man as mentally incompetent, while also seemingly predicting his guilt (which is not atypical for a case such as this). The judge used his discretion in ruling the Ferguson mentally competent, and it was considered by the media to be a questionable decision. Based on his behavior and the determinations of some of the witness of the trial, Ferguson should not have been standing trial and defending …show more content…
Most sources do not mention all of the different identities that Colin Ferguson was, and his mental capacity or lack thereof is the lasting legacy, aside from the victims. Ferguson was an immigrant who had been well-off. Coming to the U.S, he lost his status and was thrust into a world of racial tension that he did not understand and was frustrated by. This was evident during the trial by his demeanor and helps to explain his aggression in his prior arrests, a failed marriage, and paranoia of white people. His nationality ties into his race and as a black man experienced prejudice against him. His lawyers wanted him to presume guilt to use the “black rage” defense and his race and immigration could have factored into the ruling on mental capacity. And finally, he was seen as this crazed defendant with erratic behavior in the courtroom, but he did not believe he was crazy. It allowed for the public to view him as someone who should not be representing themselves, but also who was overwhelmingly