Editor,
This letter is in response to Anne Rice's letter in the Dec. 12 issue of the Daily Lobo regarding mental health issues in light of the ruling by a judge that John Hyde is incompetent to stand trial.
One thing Rice did not go into is the difference between mental health being a real issue and people using it as an excuse. Now more than ever, people on trial are using mental health as an excuse. They are using it to escape jail time.
It is becoming increasingly difficult to determine who is actually mentally ill and who is just searching for a scapegoat. Our system is basically letting murderers spend their time in a low-security mental health institution instead of a high-security prison. To me, this seems a little wrong. I agree that the people who are actually mentally ill should spend their time in an institution, but with so much difficulty determining the real thing from a fake, I think they should go to jail. I know I could fake a mental health issue if I were on trial - it would be very easy.
I also love how no one had any previous knowledge whatsoever of any mental health problems with John Hyde. When the trial rolled around, though, he was conveniently incompetent.
We live in a society where personal responsibility is gone and we are blaming anything and everything for our problems and mistakes. Send John Hyde where he belongs - a killer is a killer, and that is the bottom line.
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Mario Hernandez
UNM student
