Opinion ID: 20704
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence raising bona fide question of Mata's competence

Text: 23 The record contains evidence that Mata suffers from an organic brain disorder resulting from closed head injuries and has a history of mental health problems both before and after his capital murder trial. Since 1986, physicians at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice have prescribed numerous psychotherapeutic and antidepressant medications to alleviate the symptoms of mental illness. 3 He has made numerous suicide attempts and engaged in several hunger strikes. There is a report from Dr. Allen Childs detailing his findings in 1994 that Mata suffers from delusional disorder with paranoid and erotomanic features and borderline personality organization. Dr. Childs opined that Mata's efforts at suicide as well as his delusions of seeing and talking with his murder victim are genuine. Dr. Childs also wrote a letter in 1998, based on his examination of Mata in 1994, stating that Mata was not competent to drop his appeals. We conclude that all the evidence presented with respect to Mata's mental stability and competence is sufficient to create reasonable cause for a competency hearing. See State v. Davis, 61 F.3d 291, 304 (5th Cir. 1995).