Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and its Effect on the Criminal Justice System

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While the film box office continues to see millions of dollars in revenue from the film American Sniper, a jury found Eddie Ray Routh guilty of the first degree murders of Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield.  During the trial documentation was provided that Routh was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”) and schizophrenia.  PTSD is a mental condition that is documented to occur to individuals who have experienced grave events including rape, death, or some sort of near death experienced. Because of the violent nature of war it is well documented that military service members may experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder upon returning to the United States, which affects their abilities not only to obtain jobs, but also to maintain relationships with family and friends.  The recent return of various combat troops is resulting in increasing numbers of veterans coming back as different people, often times violent.