Planned Parenthood Gunman Mentally Unfit for Trial, Experts Testify
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Version 0 of 1. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Robert L. Dear Jr. thought “the feds” had been after him for 20 years, cutting holes in his clothes and planting a listening device in his pickup truck. He believed President Obama was the Antichrist, and that the Planned Parenthood center he admitted firing on in November was the most evil place in the world. Those delusions and Mr. Dear’s mental state were detailed in a courtroom here on Thursday as lawyers heard testimony about whether Mr. Dear was mentally competent to stand trial for killing three people and wounding nine. Two state psychologists who examined him this winter testified that they believed he was not. The decision rests with the district judge overseeing the case, Gilbert Martinez. He did not make a ruling on Thursday, and after a day of testimony, carried the hearing over until May 10. Jackie Grimmett, one of two state psychologists who examined Mr. Dear this winter, said he suffered from widespread and long-running delusions that shaped his view of reality. He believed the F.B.I. had been pursuing him for years, and believed that the judge and his defense lawyers were part of a conspiracy to silence him. The judge ordered a competency evaluation of Mr. Dear after he demanded to fire his public defenders and be allowed to act as his own lawyer. He has been charged with 179 counts, including first-degree murder and attempted murder, and could face the death penalty. While he has not formally entered a plea, at his first appearance in court Mr. Dear declared, “I’m guilty. There’s no trial. I’m a warrior for the babies.” He has said he believes he is mentally competent to stand trial because he went to college and was intelligent, and he opposes any defense strategy based on mental illness or insanity. “He made it very clear that he was competent,” Dr. Grimmett testified. “I don’t believe he regards himself as mentally ill.” Mr. Dear, sitting disheveled and shackled next to his defense lawyers, called out: “Correct.” As the hearing unfolded on Thursday, Mr. Dear piped up repeatedly to interject his opinions about the testimony. “I’m going to represent myself,” he called out. “It’s my constitutional right. It’s my life on the line.” A Colorado Springs police detective who interviewed Mr. Dear for more than seven hours after the Nov. 27 shooting rampage said Mr. Dear did not want an insanity defense because he feared it would dampen his anti-abortion message. Mr. Dear idolized a gunman who killed a Florida abortion provider in 1994, and said that abortion was a “satanic sacrifice.” Detective Jerry Schiffelbein said that Mr. Dear did not want the focus of the trial to shift onto his mental health because, “It diminishes his message. It diminishes his cause.” Mr. Dear’s lawyers have questioned whether he is mentally able to understand the court proceedings against him and help participate in his defense. Dr. Grimmett testified that while Mr. Dear knows what day it is, and can follow the facts of the proceedings, his understanding is fractured by his delusions. B. Thomas Gray, a state psychologist who examined Mr. Dear along with Dr. Grimmett, also concluded he was not mentally fit to stand trial. If the judge agrees with them, the legal process will be delayed and Mr. Dear would be sent to the state mental hospital for treatment until he is “restored to competency.” |