Mental health questions delay trial
Longview News-JournalOct 14, 2017
The mental competency of a man accused in the fatal stabbings of two people almost fours years ago at a Longview hospital again has led to a delay in his trial, with
Templeton's trial had been slated to start Monday. District Judge
Templeton, 26, was found to be mentally incompetent in August, and his defense attorneys said they need more time to get their client mentally competent so they can discuss the case with him and to ready the large amount of evidence, witnesses and mental health experts for the trial.
"As it stands, trial is set for
Templeton is charged with capital murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after police said he fatally stabbed nurse
He also is accused of attacking nurse
Police said Templeton had been at the hospital for his mother's surgery that morning, and he told an officer that "they" were trying to kill his mother.
He remains in the
Court records show Templeton's attorneys have indicated they intend to present an insanity defense at the trial, but many documents related to the case remain sealed, and the prosecution and defense are under a gag order that prohibits them from discussing the matter in order to minimize pretrial publicity before a jury is seated.
The documents that are public show Templeton's mental health has been in question several times after his arrest, with his attorneys noting at times he has failed to take necessary medication and at one point asked jail officials to stop providing it to him.
It was during an
At that time, he was found competent to stand trial after Charles ordered him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
However, Templeton was evaluated again over the summer, and he was ruled in August to be mentally incompetent.
Templeton's lawyers also have said they need more time to ready the case for trial, noting earlier this year that DNA evidence had been held up for years in testing. It was returned in
Attorneys also have not been able to discuss the case with Templeton for more than 10 months because he is not mentally fit enough to understand what is going on, records show.
"This case is unusual due to the large number of witnesses and extremely complex due to the volume of mental health testimony that is anticipated," Cassel wrote. "This volume of mental evidence has only increased since the finding of incompetency. Counsel would need additional time to review this information, provide it to their experts and determine if there are any new witnesses that need to be secured."
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