Legal Question in Criminal Law in California
Cruel and Unusual punishment
would it be considered cruel and unusual punishment to sentence a man to jail for a murder that he does not remember committing because he has alzheimer's disease?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Cruel and Unusual punishment
The person you describe would likely be found incompetent to stand trial, since he would not be able to participate in his defense.
Re: Cruel and Unusual punishment
Yes, Mr. Hoffman hit it right on the head. The issue is competency to stand trial-- a difficult standard for the defense, BTW. This involves issues involving the 6th Amendment and 14th Amendment. The issue is not one of 8th Amendment cruel & unusual punishment, as one who commits a crime and later forgets it can still be made to serve out his punishment under the 8th Amendment.
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