You don't say why you don't agree. I'm not sure how to respond to just a conclusory opinion statement. What do you base your opinion on? You think he's a faker? (certainly *could be*) Also, please know that I actually said "
it appeared...he developed," so let me know why you don't think so. I'm open
. I am always eager to learn!!!
The interviews with his family members indicate schizophrenia: perfectly normal until he became perfectly strange, seemingly overnight. And the symptoms: anger out of absolutely nowhere (not even rejection or another's disapproving expression), extreme paranoia (hence the term Paranoid Schizophrenia), audio hallucinations, significant reality loss, etc., indicate schizophrenia. Moreover, schizophrenia meds help him. Big indicator there too. For example, if you don't know if a emotional dysregulation issue is from BPD or bi-polar, give the person Lithium or Prozac. If Prozac exacerbates, it's bi-polar. If Lithum does nothing, it's BPD (of course this is "generally;" co-morbidities & genetics account for differences in outcome).
Okay, so I just looked Mitten up (which I really didn't have time to do, but wondered if I missed something...) At trial, the State presented 2 psychiatrists as did Mitten. All 4 say Mitten is/was definitely mentally ill and all 4 say either definitely or probably schizophrenia.
The jury did not necessarily think he was faking, though, just because he was found guilty (i.e., they didn't necessarily dismiss 4 M.D.'s) since schizophrenia does not mean one doesn't know right from wrong. Texas uses the McMaughten insanity test which is an extremely difficult standard for insanity (recall one Texas jury didn't think Andrea Yates met the standard, and if she wasn't insane, no one is). That is to say, they probably shouldn't even refer to the McNaughten test as an "insanity" test. It's more of an objective legal standard than a semi-subjective psychiatric standard. If Texas used either the Sudden Impulse or the MPC (combo) standard, Mitten probably would have been acquitted.
Interestingly, like Yates, Mitten didn't clean up, remove fingerprints, get rid of clothes, put the body in the trunk, leave town. He took his mom to the emergency room. Very atypical behavior.
Still open though. Why don't you agree with schizophrenia?