The headline in the September 23 Erie Times News states " Diehl-Armstrong ready for showdown " . The article details the Erie Times' interview with Marjorie Diehl Armstrong, an individual accused of being involved in the famous " Pizza Bomber " case in Erie,Pennsylvania. This news story has garnered national attention due to the bizarre nature of the crime.
The Erie Times article raises a troubling issue: what is the Erie Times News doing interviewing this individual? Marjorie Diehl Armstrong is certainly not a sympathetic individual. She has been implicated in the deaths of two individuals. She plead guilty but mentally ill in the killing of a prior boyfriend. She is currently serving a state court sentence on that crime. She has also been implicated in the Pizza Bomber case. Despite all this she is mentally incompetent and should be given some basic considerations due to her condition.
She is currently in the Federal Medical Center at Carswell, in Fort Worth, Texas. U.S. District Judge Sean J. McLaughlin found Diehl-Armstrong to be mentally incompetent to stand trial. She is currently being examined to determine the extent of her mental disease. Judge McLaughlin found that her mental illness was such that she could not assist her counsel in the defense of her case. As an attorney, I am sure that her court appointed public defender does not want her to be giving interviews about the case. In fact the interviews can really do nothing but hurt her defense. These interviews really probably support the Judge's mental incompetence findings.
So what is the Erie Times News doing interviewing individuals that the court has found to be mentally incompetent? The Times article mentions a prior diagnosis of bi-polar disorder for Ms. Diehl-Armstrong. Clearly, the Times has a constitutional right to publish such an article. But where is their editorial discretion? Even if Ms. Diehl-Armstrong initiated the call, someone at the Times News has to realize that this is just wrong. This woman has some serious mental health issues. She is currently confined in a federal facility to determine the extent of her problems. This is an interview that can wait until this woman is found to be mentally competent. Anything less is preying on someone who is mentally incompetent. We should expect better from the press.
