I always thought that she actually believed the stuff Chad preached. And, I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but if you even consider that stuff to be possibly true, then something has to be wrong up there in the head.
Now, you can have mental health issues, and still be competent to stand trial. At this point, she isn't. I have to believe the professionals would be able to see past her supposedly master manipulator tactics. I don't think she is a "master manipulator" like she has been described though, I think she found people like her, that believed the same stuff she did, that wanted the same things she wanted, that had the same or similiar morals or lack of thereof. In my opinion, she didn't manipulate her brother, they had a strong bond and the same moral compass so they stayed together and covered for each other. I also don't believe she manipulated Charles, I think they were in a very toxic and obsessive relationship, he knew she was an awful person but he still wanted to be with her. That happens everyday, to both men and women, I think everyone knows a couple like that. And she 100% didn't manipulate Chad, if anything, Chad did a number on her. She's not a victim though, she was a willing participant in all of this mess, and I have to say that, by Charles' accounts, it sounds like she really went downhill when she met and became enamoured with Chad. I don't think Chad ever had to make any effort for her to buy what he was selling or manipulate her, she wanted to believe what he was saying was true, it made sense to her.
BUT, just because she's dealing with some mental health issues, it doesn't mean she isn't an absolutely awful, terrible, horrible person. She is a murder. Even if she wasn't the one who killed Charles, Tammy, JJ and Tylee (which, I really don't believe she was the one doing the actual killing), she knew they were going to be killed, she agreed to it, she thought it was a good idea, she covered for whoever killed them, she participated in the murders. She is still a criminal, she still wanted all of those people dead, including her own children, she still wanted that $ from Charles, Tylee, JJ and most likely Tammy. The fact that she's not competent NOW, doesn't mean that she won't ever be or that she never was.
Even if you're an horrible person, which she is, you still have the right to treatment. And I know it's hard to agree or remember that when such horrible crimes are involved, but it's the truth. This is not the Middle Ages, if someone who committed a crime and is in jail/prision gets sick, they have to receive treatment. And I know it's bitter to the tax payers to be paying for all of this, but I don't see it as tax payers footing the bill for HER, but rather for HER VICTIMS. It's for Tylee, JJ, Tammy and everyone else she hurt, it's not for her. And it's for all of us too, for our safety, because a person like Lori has no business being free among everyone else.