Sandy Springs man mentally incomptent to stand trial for mother’s slaying

In 2009, 18-year old Alexander Cordell confessed to assaulting and gunning down his mother. Apparently, Cordell confessed to police, smiling that he was a "psychotic killer". Now three years later,  Cordell may never have to truly explain why he killed his mother due to his recent diagnoses as "mentally incompetent to stand trial". At the next hearing, which is scheduled for October 30, Shawn Lagrua, the Fulton County Supreme Court Judge will determine whether Cordell should be admitted into a mental hospital. Prior to the incident, Cordell had no previous history of violence. Mike Fecht, Cordell's stepfather, described his stepson as a quiet and slightly awkward kid. There may have been some estrangement between the son and mother, but the main cause of this was, according to Fecht, that Cordell was growing up and becoming tired of his mother's inability of being a good role model. On June 2, 2009, Cordell invited his mother to his newly purchased apartment, where he fired nine rounds from a 9 mm carbine rifle into her vehicle. Come October 30, the Fechts and relatives of Cordell will learn whether he will be sentenced to a mental institution.

An event such as this plays a significant role in society because it questions whether or not an incident like this deserves a mental hospital sentencing or some other, more severe form of punishment. A controversy as this questions whether justice should be served with the death penalty. It would seem right for a person's life to be taken if that person were to take someone else's life, regardless of their relationship. Furthermore, declaring a person "mentally ill" excuses that person of any punishment.

This event of murder is comparable to the recent shooting during the month of July in Aurora, Colorado. James Holmes, the convict of the murdering of 12 people, after numerous trials, was deemed insane and admitted into a mental institution. Similar to Cordell's admitting that he was ill, Holmes declared that he wanted to murder the The Dark Knight Rises (the movie that was screened at the shooting) cast members. As long as Cordell continues to claim that he is mentally sick, he will most likely have the same consequence as Holmes.