Post by Anja Nieser on Oct 1, 2006 6:54:00 GMT -5
Killer ineligible for death penalty
Accused serial killer Eugene Victor Britt, already serving a life sentence
for the murder of an 8-year-old Portage girl, is mentally retarded and
therefore not eligible for the death penalty.
Lake Superior Court Judge Salvador Vasquez ruled Friday that Britt, 49, of
Gary, met the definitions of mental retardation and substantial impairment
of adaptive functioning and dismissed the death penalty charges filed in
connection with 6 1995 homicides.
The judge also ruled Britt would not be subject to a sentence of life
without parole under Indiana law.
Britt was ready earlier this year to plead guilty to the 6 homicides and 1
rape and be sentenced to 6 life terms without parole. Lake County
Prosecutor Bernard Carter said he never authorized a plea agreement, and
the document never materialized. Carter on Friday defended his decision
not to go forward with the plea agreement and said he and his top advisers
would evaluate their options in light of Vasquez's ruling.
"Britt is not retarded. You can ask anybody in the jail," Carter said,
noting he interacts normally with correctional officers and other inmates
and was moved from his cell after he was caught flirting with women
through the window.
As for the withdrawn plea agreement, Carter said: "Britt deserves to die."
Vasquez said he relied more heavily on the testimony of defense witness
Denis Keyes, an associate professor of special education at College of
Charleston in South Carolina. Keyes has done research in the area of
mental retardation and the death penalty and has been involved in about
100 death penalty cases.
Keyes testified last week he thought Britt met the two-pronged legal
definition of mental retardation and substantial impairment of adaptive
functioning that would spare him the death penalty. Adaptive functioning
refers to skills that allow a person to care for himself, manage money,
hold down a job and make plans for the future.
Vasquez also reviewed a transcript of the testimony of Raymond Horn, a
clinical psychologist appointed by Lake Superior Court Judge pro tem
Thomas Webber Sr., to conduct an independent evaluation. Horn found that
Britt did not meet the definition of mental retardation in state law and
that he was not putting forth his best effort during the evaluation.
Britt's jury trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 10 in connection with the
homicide of Nakita Moore, 14, of Gary.
In November 1995, Britt confessed to police investigators that he killed
8-year-old Sarah Paulsen of Portage, who was strangled, and that he'd
killed several other women and girls.
Defense attorneys Gojko Kasich and John Maksimovich argued that the
confession should be suppressed, but Vasquez ruled it could be used as
evidence during the trial.
(source: Gary Post-Tribune)
Accused serial killer Eugene Victor Britt, already serving a life sentence
for the murder of an 8-year-old Portage girl, is mentally retarded and
therefore not eligible for the death penalty.
Lake Superior Court Judge Salvador Vasquez ruled Friday that Britt, 49, of
Gary, met the definitions of mental retardation and substantial impairment
of adaptive functioning and dismissed the death penalty charges filed in
connection with 6 1995 homicides.
The judge also ruled Britt would not be subject to a sentence of life
without parole under Indiana law.
Britt was ready earlier this year to plead guilty to the 6 homicides and 1
rape and be sentenced to 6 life terms without parole. Lake County
Prosecutor Bernard Carter said he never authorized a plea agreement, and
the document never materialized. Carter on Friday defended his decision
not to go forward with the plea agreement and said he and his top advisers
would evaluate their options in light of Vasquez's ruling.
"Britt is not retarded. You can ask anybody in the jail," Carter said,
noting he interacts normally with correctional officers and other inmates
and was moved from his cell after he was caught flirting with women
through the window.
As for the withdrawn plea agreement, Carter said: "Britt deserves to die."
Vasquez said he relied more heavily on the testimony of defense witness
Denis Keyes, an associate professor of special education at College of
Charleston in South Carolina. Keyes has done research in the area of
mental retardation and the death penalty and has been involved in about
100 death penalty cases.
Keyes testified last week he thought Britt met the two-pronged legal
definition of mental retardation and substantial impairment of adaptive
functioning that would spare him the death penalty. Adaptive functioning
refers to skills that allow a person to care for himself, manage money,
hold down a job and make plans for the future.
Vasquez also reviewed a transcript of the testimony of Raymond Horn, a
clinical psychologist appointed by Lake Superior Court Judge pro tem
Thomas Webber Sr., to conduct an independent evaluation. Horn found that
Britt did not meet the definition of mental retardation in state law and
that he was not putting forth his best effort during the evaluation.
Britt's jury trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 10 in connection with the
homicide of Nakita Moore, 14, of Gary.
In November 1995, Britt confessed to police investigators that he killed
8-year-old Sarah Paulsen of Portage, who was strangled, and that he'd
killed several other women and girls.
Defense attorneys Gojko Kasich and John Maksimovich argued that the
confession should be suppressed, but Vasquez ruled it could be used as
evidence during the trial.
(source: Gary Post-Tribune)