After reading about the Andre Thomas case, I was first horrified by how critical Thomas' mental illness had become. The Texas tribune has listed a timeline of Thomas' life. It is clear that he had severe mental health issues and for whatever reason was allowed to be without care.

The Pros and the Cons of the Death Penalty

Morality is often at the center of the debate of the Death Penalty. Many believe that the death penalty is morally wrong due to the government's decision to take another life (Top). But, it's also morally wrong to commit the crimes that those on death row have committed. For example, Andre Thomas, although mentally ill, murdered his wife and family. It's also morally wrong to take innocent lives. The costs could also be a factor. While keeping a person in prison for life can be costly, the death penalty will keep control of the costs of tax payers (Top). Tax payers have to pay for the cost of living for the incarcerated, and with rising numbers, their are rising costs. The death penalty allows for …show more content…
Andre clearly has severe mental issues that proves that he is a harm not only to those around him, but also to his self. After attempting to take his life several times and going blind by prying is own eyes out, I would argue that he is almost too mentally ill to keep in prison. With that being said, I have a really hard time saying that he is "too crazy" to recieve anything. However, I think Andre is too much of a threat to others and to himself to go on. But, I think his case is much more complicated. Andre's mental issues started as a young boy (Grissom). If Andre had gotten adequate help at a younger age, instead of being thrown around. His mental illness is only getting worse now being in the prison (Grissom). The state needs better funding to assist those that are mentally ill. Grissom of The Texas Tribune mentions of the "thousands of mentally ill inmates in the state's sprawling prison system"