Schizophrenia

"If I am incompetent now, I have been incompetent since the day I was born," Muhammad said.

Prosecutors challenged the diagnosis by Yale University psychiatrist Dorothy Lewis, saying she had commented to the media before Muhammad and Malvo were arrested that the sniper was likely psychotic.

Prosecutor Vivek Chopra said the psychiatrist's report was biased and had been crafted to fit the earlier conclusion.

Ryan said he believed Muhammad understood the gravity of deciding to represent himself.

But he repeatedly warned the defendant that he was potentially hobbling his case by going forward with no legal training and little courtroom experience.

The judge appointed Muhammad's defense attorneys, Paul DeWolfe and Brian Shefferman, as standby counsel to help him prepare for the trial.

They said they have not decided whether to accept the assignment.

They said afterward that the judge had refused to hold a full hearing with witnesses.

"We feel we didn't get a chance to present and document evidence of a serious mental illness," DeWolfe said.

"He is very ill; he is mentally ill." Muhammad has seven boxes of court records with him in prison and a DVD that contains 30,000 pages of documents, according to testimony.

Muhammad briefly represented himself during his trial in Virginia, delivering an opening statement and cross-examining at least one witness.

He allowed his attorneys to retake control of the case after he complained of pain from an abscessed tooth.

WEATHER We...

These are common problems.CATHERINE MCGRATH: Professor Ian Hickie is the clinical adviser to the Mental Health Research Council.

He gave evidence to the Senate inquiry.IAN HICKIE: I think families and people with illnesses are looking for two things.

One is access to real services in a crisis and the second big issue is access early in the course of illness.

We have a tendency in mental health to turn people away until their illness becomes more severe.CATHERINE MCGRATH: The Senate Committee, with Democrats Lyn Alison as Chair and Liberal Gary Humphries as Deputy, was set up in March last year, and the task was so great that by August it was granted an extension of time.

The report, when it's tabled, is expected to detail the lack of integrated resources and the need to improve recovery focused care.

But the key finding will related to the need for an expansion of services offered when a patient first visits a GP.The committee wants to see more health professionals involved and for some GPs' surgeries to become more like community based mental health centres, where psychologists, nurses and social workers can offer integrated care, with psychiatrists also being involved to oversee the most serious cases.John Mendoza, CEO of the Mental Health Council, says the Senate report provides a genuine opportunity for change.JOHN MENDONZA: The best option is for Government to encourage collaborative practice.

That is, getting doctors, as the re...

"There is no reason at all why I should not be able to represent myself in this trial," he said.

"If I had a mental disorder, then Rosa Parks had a mental disorder, because she didn't get up off that seat." Muhammad stood throughout the two-hour hearing and spoke frequently, often sparring with his attorneys.

At one point, he asked the judge for permission to sit with the prosecutors because they agreed that he is competent.

Ryan ignored his request.

In agreeing that Muhammad could act as his own attorney, Ryan stressed that Muhammad was making a bad decision because he has no legal training and little legal experience.

Muhammad's attorneys said afterward that the judge had refused to hold a full hearing with witnesses.

"We feel we didn't get a chance to present and document evidence of a serious mental illness," said defense attorney Paul DeWolfe.

"He is very ill; he is mentally ill." The judge appointed DeWolfe and another lawyer as standby attorneys, giving them an advisory role so the defendant can ask them law questions and get help with legal filings.

Muhammad briefly represented himself during his trial in Virginia, delivering an opening statement and cross-examining at least one witness.

He eventually allowed his attorneys to retake control of the case.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press.

All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

!

-start data for usatc appAccused sniper ruled competent3/29...