Lawrence E. King Jr.'s mental incompetence

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Lawrence E. King Jr.'s mental incompetence

Postby chiggerbit » Thu Nov 05, 2009 1:31 pm

This struck me as kind of weird:

http://www.franklincase.org/2-11-91PagesinFranklin.htm

Feb. 7, 1990: U.S. Magistrate Richard Kopf ordered Lawrence E. King Jr. to undergo a mental competency exam to determine whether he was fit to stand trial. King was taken to a federal medical facility in Springfield, Mo.


March 19, 1990: Lawrence E. King Jr. was returned to Omaha after a 40-day stay at the federal medical facility in Springfield. U.S. Magistrate Richard Kopf ordered him held without bail until a hearing could be held on his mental competency. Two psychiatric evaluations indicated King was incapable of cooperating with his attorneys.


...March 30, 1990: U.S. Magistrate Richard Kopf made a preliminary decision that King was mentally incompetent to stand trial. He recommended to U.S. District Judge William Cambridge that King be taken to the U.S. Medical Facility at Rochester, Minn., for treatment. April 4, 1990: U.S. District Judge William Cambridge ruled King was mentally incompetent to stand trial. King was immediately taken to the Rochester federal facility.



Aug. 29, 1990: Lawrence E. King Jr., diagnosed by government psychiatrists as recovered enough from a mental disorder to assist in defending himself against criminal charges, returned to Omaha after being released from the federal medical facility at Rochester, Minn.


Oct. 24, 1990: At a federal court hearing, Lawrence E. King Jr. said he was competent to stand trial. Prosecutors agreed with King. But King's court-appointed attorneys said there were questions about King's mental condition that might make it difficult for him to go to trial.



Dec. 7, 1990: U.S. District Judge William Cambridge ruled that Lawrence E. King Jr. was mentally competent to stand trial on 40 criminal charges stemming from Franklin's 1988 failure, upholding a recommendation made by U.S. Magistrate Richard Kopf.



I guess I find it hard to believe that he was so mentally incometent that he couldn't stand trail. And I also find it hard to believe that he "recoverd" enough at Rochester, after the Springfield, Missouri facility had said earlier that he wasn't. Rochester most likely just didn't buy the "incompetence" diagnosis. It would be interesting to see the paperwork. I could swear that there have been other times I've heard of that Springfield facility, but not connected with this Franklin conspiracy.

It would also be interesting to see more about this U.S. District Judge William Cambridge.
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Postby chiggerbit » Thu Nov 05, 2009 2:24 pm

Hmmm, I see that Springfield is mentioned here recently:

http://www.rigorousintuition.ca/board/v ... b1ed202f62

Before he was brought to trial Michael Riconosciuto’s mental capability was brought into question by his own attorney and he was subjected to an examination by three local psychiatrists. The three doctors differed in their analysis but the final consensus was that Michael was capable of participating in his own defense. On January 16, 1974 doctors at the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners at Springfield, Missouri had the final say when they declared Riconosciuto to be “without mental illness” in report No. 11919-116.


But I don't think this was the only one. Makes me wonder about Springfield.
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Postby chiggerbit » Thu Nov 05, 2009 2:39 pm

Weird, I didn't know there was one in Springfield, Illinois, too. I wonder if Virginia meant Missouri?

http://tinyurl.com/yae2j5y

On October 26, 2001 Anita Langley emailed this reporter saying that “Michael sent me a letter, very urgent, and some copies which I’ve just made public. He’s been trying to warn authorities of impending terrorist attacks….We’re setting up a web site for him at http://mindgallery.com/hiddenroom/wizard [Note: this url has since been removed from the net]. This same communication revealed that Langley was a cousin by marriage to Riconosciuto. Langley also stated that Riconosciuto feared that if Anita revealed the relationship there “would be a family blood bath”. Langley continued conveying messages from Michael that conveyed warnings of missile attacks and germ warfare attacks.

On January 16, 2002 Michael Riconosciuto had prostate surgery performed at the Federal Correctional Institute Medical Center in Springfield, Illinois. It is unclear from the existing documents whether or not the surgery was successful.
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Postby American Dream » Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:34 pm

Makes me think of Mob Boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante, who reularly checked himself in to a friendly mental hospital, just to keep up with his "insanity defense":

http://www.thevillager.com/villager_138 ... gante.html
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Postby Jeff » Fri Nov 06, 2009 2:43 am

Only after - weeks after - the grand juries absolved him of child abuse, was King mentally competent to take the stand.

Neither did he contest Bonacci's suit or appeal its finding.
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Postby chiggerbit » Sun Nov 08, 2009 2:06 pm

Only after - weeks after - the grand juries absolved him of child abuse, was King mentally competent to take the stand.


Well, I guess I figure it's expected procedure on the part of King's attorney to try. And I think judges usually accept the findings of psychiatric experts. But what I find most unexpected is that--not one, but two --psychiatric evaluations "indicated King was incapable of cooperating with his attorneys". Even schizophrenia isn't always enough to be considered "incompetent", is it? So just what was his diagnosis?
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