Skip to main content.
Religion News Blog is a non-profit service providing academics, religion professionals and other researchers with religion & cult news
ReligionNewsBlog

Religion news articles about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues

Navigation:
Home | Site Menu | About RNB | RNB Store | Cult FAQ | Cult Experts | Apologetics Index | Cult Information Search Engine
A Random Image
More articles about: Anthony Bell:

Judge: Man accused in church killings is mentally competent to stand trial in Baton Rouge

AP, via The Town Talk, USA
Aug. 31. 2007
www.thetowntalk.com

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Saturday September 1, 2007

BATON ROUGE (AP) — A man accused of killing his wife and then going to a church and killing four of her relatives is clearly able to understand the charges and to help his attorneys, a state judge has ruled.

District Judge Todd Hernandez ruled after hearing one mental health expert testify that Anthony Bell is not competent for trial, and hearing two others testify that he is.

He said he also based his ruling on defense motions — including one in which Bell asks him to replace defense attorney Margaret Lagattuta — that “clearly articulate the facts.”

Bell’s wife, Erica, was shot in an apartment complex parking lot in May 2006. Her relatives were killed in the Ministry of Jesus Christ Church. Bell claims his wife killed them.

Psychiatrist John Thompson Jr. and psychologist Donald Hoppe testified that Bell was mentally competent to stand trial. Psychologist Marc Zimmerman testified that Bell has the mental ability of a young child and is unfit for trial.

Both Hoppe and Zimmerman have concluded Bell is mentally retarded.

All three experts said they suspect may have been trying to hide his intelligence and understanding of court proceedings, possibly to avoid the death penalty.

Hoppe testified last week that when he first evaluated Bell in January, Bell gave an account of the slayings identical to the police report, except for blaming his wife. He also accurately described the legal process and the roles of various court personnel.

But when Hoppe returned two months later for a competency exam, Bell appeared to have lost that understanding.

When Hoppe confronted Bell about the discrepancy, the psychologist testified that Bell became agitated, exclaiming: “You people are too nosy. I don’t know nothing about no court.”

Bookmark share or email this Religion News Blog page Bookmark, Share, or Email This Page

 

Read another article Read Another Article

Tags and keywords for this Apologetics Index entry Related News Articles

arrow Topic(s): Anthony Bell
arrow

RSS Feed Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates

Religion News Find Related Information

Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults:
arrow ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.
arrow CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.

Religion News Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com

Religion News Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles

Religion News Search Search Religion News Blog