Defendant with No Language on Trial

Tuesday, 11 January 2011 | by Pat's Picks

It’s not uncommon for a defendant to need a translator. But what happens when someone accused of a crime speaks no language at all? The Philadelphia Inquirer says prosecutors are having a tough time going forward with a case against a man who is deaf, mute and illiterate. It’s the man’s inaccessibility to language that made him so perfect for the crime—being a drug mule for a Mexican cartel—he is charged with say the prosecutors. It also makes it almost impossible to prosecute him. In almost all cases that deal with someone who doesn’t comprehend language, a judge will declare the defendant incompetent to stand trial.