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Charges Stand Against Elizabeth Smart Kidnapper
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by CJaye | March 7, 2009 at 05:54 pm
600 views | 2 Recommendations | 3 comments
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A Utah judge has turned down a motion by the defense to dismiss kidnapping and sexual abuse charges against the man accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart. Judge Judith Atherton declined to dismiss charges against Brian David Mitchell.Previously, Judge Atherton declared Mitchell incompetent to stand trial in the 2002 kidnapping.
Last year, Judge Atherton ruled that Mitchell did not meet the criteria to make him eligible for forced medication to make him competent. She ruled that the prosecution's experts did not convince the court that the medications would work.
Because Mitchell is incompetent and because he cannot be forced to take medication, his defense attorneys filed a motion claiming the charges should be dismissed. They said to keep him under the charges violated his constitutional right against cruel punishment. A Fereral evaluation is pending.
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at 00:34 on March 8th, 2009
If he is incompetent to stand trial, then he needs to be locked up in a secure psychiatric ward.
I wanted to mention that a couple of detective friends of mine pointed out to me that this case was a great example of one of the ways the police commonly go wrong.
You will recall that the original suspect died in jail, the housepainter who had never committed a sex crime before.
The police refused to believe the sister even though she knew the truth and told them the truth, that the kidnapper was not the housepainter.
And, so Elizabeth Smart was held captive by that crazy psycho even longer than was necessary all because the police refused to abandon their preconception of who was guilty and listen to the one who knew, the younger sister.
This is one of the most common ways that false accusations get going.
at 06:11 on April 5th, 2009
Police did investigate someone other than Ricci at the very beginning of the case. It was the homeless man that the family thought was "very suspicious". (In my opinion, the June 2002 Deseret News article describes this man as someone who very much fits Mitchell's description). Detectives were stated in the same article that the man was not and would not ever be a suspect in the case. Ed Smart points out later in a November 2002 Larry King interview that this "very suspicious" person ... "apparently he had been in the hospital for an oral surgery and he was -- for something and was incapacitated supposedly."
For the sake of argument and somewhat in defense of the police investigation - if this homeless man was indeed Mitchell, and therefore Mitchell had an airtight alibi (i.e. was incapaciated in the hospital the night he was supposed to be in the house taking Elizabeth by force), then it would make sense that police most likely would probably move their investigation in another direction, and continue to look at Ricci closely.
While I never believed that Ricci was involved, I did have the fleeting thought after Elizabeth was found and news articles showed pictures of the Mitchell's alleged hideout in the hills, that a posthole digger, macheti and other tools might've come in handy when building that hideout.
at 06:26 on March 10th, 2009
Classic case of police officer tunnel vision! It happens so many times and way too often innocent people suffer in prison due to BAD police investigations. Their refusal to look any further than their noses what they can see, It's easier that way. As far as this creep being incompetent not to stand trial, after working with mental health patients trust me this guy knew every step he took when he took it as well as his wife. He took Elizabeth Smart from her bedroom, hide her face and identity from everyone, he knew enough to do that. How much calculation do you think it took to do that? He's not incompetent. If he is I'm a monkey's uncle. Thanks Roy great comment")