The state would seem to be in a bind here:
Ahmad Edwards was convicted of attempted murder and other charges in 2005 for a shooting at an Indianapolis store.
He was initially found to be schizophrenic but by 2005, he was judged competent to stand trial.
The state denied Edwards' request to represent himself. Edwards was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison. He appealed and the Indiana courts agreed his right to represent himself had been violated.
You cannot logically say something is competent to stand trial and then deny him the right to defend himself. This is further proof that the legal concept of insanity and the medical concept of mental illness are going to have to be reconciled sooner or later.
