Eddy Ray Routh
An American Disgrace Malingerer
By Lynn A. Granata
Back in February 2013, a schizophrenic former US Marine Corporal shot and killed two great American Navy SEALS Heroes because "he thought that they were out to steal his soul."
So, at least that's what his defense counsel corroborated in a Stephenville, Texas court room earlier this year. January 2015 is when the double homicide trial for one Eddy Ray Routh took place in Texas. Routh was about to argue that he was under going a psychotic break with reality at the time when he committed the two murders.
The prosecution had a far different story to tell, though, stick around and I'll tell you more.
Routh was a drug addict since he was a teenager. He regularly used marijuana and cannabis to get high, which made him have unusual and vivid auditory hallucinations. In addition to the voices, he had delusions as well. He thought that the world was out to literally "get him" and "eat him."
He was discharged from the Marines because of his severe mental illness. He lost jobs after he reverted back to civilian life. His mother, Jodi had to take him places because he couldn't drive. But Routh wasn't insane the prosecution asserted, because while he was out at a shooting range with both Navy SEALS Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield, respectively, he knew the difference between right and wrong.
The insanity defense is hard to prove in American Courts of Law, it carries a very high bar, you have to meet the totally insane threshold, and there's no guarantee that any defendant using it will get it. Being a paranoid schizophrenic like Eddy Routh will not merely automatically give him pardon, thus putting him in a psychiatric hospital instead of a maximum security prison cell.
To sum up the story, the unfortunate victims Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield were asked to go to Routh's home by Routh's mother, Jodi. Jodi felt that since Routh knew these two well sung war heroes from when he was in the Marine Corps, they would be able to take him out somewhere so that he could get a chance to talk out his problems with them.
Unfortunately, the two took Routh to a very dangerous place, a shooting range. Routh shot the two men because "he thought that they wanted to take his soul." Chris Kyle was a war hero during the Iraqi War in 2003 and he filmed a movie about a day in the life of his time there. He earned the upmost respect as a military man who helped to save America. The movie was filmed in the foothills of Afganistan. Chad Littlefield was his colleague during their time served in battle overseas.
Routh stole Chris Kyle's Ford Chevy Bronco, and fled to his sister's home a couple of miles away from the crime scene. Routh's sister and her husband summoned the police, and Routh was captured and arrested.
It's been speculated that Routh was malingering during his trial so that he'd get a lesser sentence, although he did suffer from paranoid schizophrenia. He was taking risperidone for a while, and was under lockdown in a psychiatric ward previously, for his violent outbursts toward neighbors and members of his immediate family. A jury sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole in February, 2015.
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| Eddy Ray Routh mugshot at the time of his arrest |
The prosecution had a far different story to tell, though, stick around and I'll tell you more.
Routh was a drug addict since he was a teenager. He regularly used marijuana and cannabis to get high, which made him have unusual and vivid auditory hallucinations. In addition to the voices, he had delusions as well. He thought that the world was out to literally "get him" and "eat him."
He was discharged from the Marines because of his severe mental illness. He lost jobs after he reverted back to civilian life. His mother, Jodi had to take him places because he couldn't drive. But Routh wasn't insane the prosecution asserted, because while he was out at a shooting range with both Navy SEALS Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield, respectively, he knew the difference between right and wrong.
The insanity defense is hard to prove in American Courts of Law, it carries a very high bar, you have to meet the totally insane threshold, and there's no guarantee that any defendant using it will get it. Being a paranoid schizophrenic like Eddy Routh will not merely automatically give him pardon, thus putting him in a psychiatric hospital instead of a maximum security prison cell.
To sum up the story, the unfortunate victims Chris Kyle and Chad Littlefield were asked to go to Routh's home by Routh's mother, Jodi. Jodi felt that since Routh knew these two well sung war heroes from when he was in the Marine Corps, they would be able to take him out somewhere so that he could get a chance to talk out his problems with them.
Unfortunately, the two took Routh to a very dangerous place, a shooting range. Routh shot the two men because "he thought that they wanted to take his soul." Chris Kyle was a war hero during the Iraqi War in 2003 and he filmed a movie about a day in the life of his time there. He earned the upmost respect as a military man who helped to save America. The movie was filmed in the foothills of Afganistan. Chad Littlefield was his colleague during their time served in battle overseas.
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| Chris Kyle a Navy SEALS Commander |
It's been speculated that Routh was malingering during his trial so that he'd get a lesser sentence, although he did suffer from paranoid schizophrenia. He was taking risperidone for a while, and was under lockdown in a psychiatric ward previously, for his violent outbursts toward neighbors and members of his immediate family. A jury sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole in February, 2015.
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