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Truman Capote Mental Illness Analysis

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The Mentality of Disorders Truman Capote shows the mistreatment of mental disorders involving criminal cases in the United States. The United States still permits the death penalty for the mentally ill. Mental Health America projects that at least 10% of people on death row have a mental illness.Schizophrenia affects Perry In Cold Blood, the diagnosis never took place. Prosecution takes place and the prosecutor charges Perry with the death penalty. Temporarily insane convicts elude the death penalty, Dick and Perry attempt to prove insanity, their bid falls short. Kansas brought back the death penalty to punish criminals. Mental illnesses have not been researched heavily at the time and, they …show more content…

In modern times and the past there have been attorney's given to defendants who cannot afford to hire their own. In Cold Blood both Perry and Dick need a public defender, Public Defenders are usually overloaded with cases. Capote went on to write, “I do not desire to serve” (Capote 257). A Public Defender in Kansas objects to representing Dick and Perry, Because of their sinful acts, and prior history with the Clutters. The defender already has an unfair bias towards the two convicts, which leads to an unfair trial. Holcomb also wants justice for the Clutter family, wanting Dick and Perry tried. Capote writes, “During the voir dire examination, four of them told the court that they had been personally, though not intimately, acquainted with Mr. Clutter;” (Capote 273). The Clutters popularity did not go unknown in the court case Holcomb still views the deaths devastating. Four of the jurors even know the Clutters prior to their death. The Clutter court case bias went very known, which occurs in other court cases as well, including convicts with mental …show more content…

Capote shows the inadequacies and the problems with criminal cases involving mental illness. Truman Capote presents the death penalty’s immoral and unkind behavior. The judicial and criminal system needs to be revived and altered, with a need for a great understanding with those with a mental disorder, to avoid cruel and unusual punishments. Truman Capote has a close attachment with Perry because of his childhood, mental illnesses with Perry’s need to be understood and supported going

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Truman Capote was a very talented writer, and he always knew the perfect ways to portray each character in all of his books. In his book In Cold Blood, Capote interviewed both of the killers, but he knew that there was something about Perry Smith. Throughout the whole book, he would be constantly trying to figure him out and why he did what he did. Throughout the book, Capote uses the technique sympathy to portray Perry.

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Perry’s health declines after spending the rest of his days in a cell, in a prison that neglects him. State prisoners are not well cared for, especially when they are charged with capital punishment. To his final days, Perry is treated like an animal while waiting in anticipation of his public

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The McNaughton rule was used, and it is “the ancient British importation which contends that if the accused knew the nature of his act, and knew it was wrong, then he is mentally competent and responsible for his actions” (Capote, 169-170). The opposition, those on the state’s side, supported its use as they believed it would prevent a “temporary insanity” (Capote, 169) ruling. It was upheld, largely as it was the custom in Kansas at that time. However, the doctor who came to evaluate Dick and Perry believes that Dick is most likely healthy, but that Perry was most likely mentally ill, “his present personality structure is very nearly that of a paranoid schizophrenic reaction,” (Capote, 189). Dr. Jones had a colleague of his evaluate Perry, and they both agree that Perry seems to be of a sort of murderer that is capable of logical thought, but is not always capable of logical action.

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