In my opinion, the Court of Criminal Appeals should be the leader for all criminal courts in the State of Texas for handling mental health cases.  I concur with the opinion set out in Atkins v. Virginia (2002) 536 U.S. 304 that states, “More than any other single factor, mental defects have been respected as a reason for leniency in our criminal justice system.” I am concerned with the nature of our current Court of Criminal Appeals decisions regarding mental health issues.