The Arkansas Judicial System Case Study

The United States judicial system is a symbol of liberty by providing legal decisions to enforce laws and the freedoms of the governed people. This particular branch of the United States government affects the everyday life of its American citizens. Through history this branch of legal administration has lived up to its promise and provided ground breaking decisions for the betterment of the people and its society. Unfortunately, with political influence and bureaucratic ritualism, the system focuses on the laws and regulations to such an extreme that due process undermines its purpose. There are multiple examples of the system failing and one issue is the proper prosecution of mentally ill convicts. A case that has evoked some outrage is the state of Arkansas medicating a mentally ill inmate, Charles Singleton, to make him mentally competent to execute the death penalty. This particular case provides mixed emotions and views of the judicial decision to follow through with the original conviction of Mr. Singleton. Furthermore, this provides evidence that the law and legal process needs an overhaul to fairly prosecute the mentally ill. The background behind this case of Charles Singleton is …show more content…
What would stop the courts from executing an individual who was mentally unstable at the period of the crime was committed? What will happen when an intellectually challenged person (mental retardation) would be put on trial? This practice approves that all the legal system has to do is medicate the defendant to be deemed competent to be placed on trial and receive a verdict. Hopefully, with the reported increase of mental disorders the Judiciary Branch will advocate for an increase of mental institutions and introduce psychological training requirements for all departments associated with due