John Delling

John Delling

I've previously mentioned John Delling, who was being tried for multiple murders. From an Associated Press story in the February 21, 2008 Idaho Statesman:

BOISE, Idaho — A Boise man is mentally unfit to stand trial because his paranoid schizophrenia prevents him from helping his attorneys fight a first-degree murder charge, a court-appointed psychologist said.

John Delling, 21, is charged with killing two Idaho men and wounding another in Arizona during a 6,500-mile road trip across the West last spring.

Boise-based clinical psychologist Dr. Chad Sombke did a mental health evaluation requested by Delling's attorneys and made public at a hearing Wednesday.

Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Roger Bourne asked 4th District Judge Deborah Bail for time to have a different psychologist study the results of Delling's evaluation before deciding whether he wants to challenge the findings.

This other news story by Patrick Orr, also in the February 21, 2008 Idaho Statesman, goes into more detail:

During a jailhouse interview in June, Delling told the Statesman that he was possessed and had no control over his body. He also said he had been diagnosed as schizophrenic. After his arrest, Delling's family sent a letter to the Statesman, saying, "John was very sick and needed more than this system had to offer."

Former neighbors and friends also said Delling had shown signs of mental illness for years. Those close to Delling have said he often talked about people stealing his "aura" and "powers."

All accounts that I have read suggest that Delling's parents made attempts to get psychiatric help for him in high school, and were unsuccessful. Again, it isn't clear how much of this problem can be laid at the feet of deinstitutionalization, and how much is the result of failure of the system to appreciate how troubled he was.