Court won’t allow forced-drugging of accused Elizabeth Smart kidnapper; Feds take up case

Brian David Mitchell was diagnosed with ‘delusional disorder’

Brian David Mitchell, accused in the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smarr, does not meet the criteria for forced medication, a 3rd District judge ruled Thursday.

Judge Judith Atherton wrote in a 44-page decision that the likelihood that psychotropic medications would help Mitchell is too low to warrant forcing him to take them.

The ruling means Mitchell may never become competent to stand trial in state court for the kidnapping.

Prosecutors, however, have the option of appealing Atherton’s decision to the Utah Supreme Court. Also, a federal indictment against the self-proclaimed prophet may now proceed.

Despite those legal options, Thursday’s ruling proved disheartening for state prosecutors and the Smart family.

Ed Smart, Elizabeth’s father, said Atherton’s decision puts Mitchell’s rights ahead of his daughter’s.
[...]

Prosecutor Alicia Cook said the state was disappointed by Atherton’s findings, but the state has options to keep Mitchell confined outside of a trial and conviction, including asking that he be committed to the Utah State Hospital.

Atherton based her decision on testimony from a September 2007 hearing in which a defense expert estimated the chances of restoring Mitchell’s competency at less than 50 percent.

Defense expert Jeffrey Metzner, a forensic psychiatrist from Colorado, testified that one problem with trying to predict Mitchell’s progress is that he has been diagnosed with “delusional disorder,” which is fairly rare. Only 30 people out of every 100,000 have the illness and it is not widely addressed in the professional literature.

Metzner claimed the case studies on the illness are flawed because of the small size of the sample population.

But experts for the prosecution claimed there was a 70 percent chance that medicating Mitchell would make him fit to stand trial.

Utah State Hospital psychiatrist Paul D. Whitehead, who was Mitchell’s doctor, based his prediction of success on the case studies and his own clinical experience.

Atherton, however, wrote in her decision that the case reviews and anecdotal evidence cited by Whitehead were not “scientifically reliable enough” to make predictions about defendants, like Mitchell, who have delusional disorder.

Mitchell’s wife and co-defendant, Wanda Eileen Barzee, had a similar forced-medication hearing in 2006, after which Atherton ruled Barzee could be forcibly medicated.

In May, officials at the Utah State Hospital began preparing to medicate Barzee. Her progress is unknown because of medical confidentiality protections.

Barzee has been at the Utah State Hospital since early 2004, when Atherton found her incompetent to stand trial.

According to previous court testimony, Barzee - who claims she is the “mother of Zion” and receives messages from God through her television - has refused treatment and made no progress toward competency.

Feds take up case against accused Elizabeth Smart kidnapper

U.S. District Attorney Brett Tolman announced Friday that his office has started the process to prosecute accused kidnapper Brian David Mitchell in federal court.

The announcement came a day after a state court judge ruled Mitchell does not meet the criteria for forced medication - a decision that effectively killed state prosecutors’ efforts to bring the self-proclaimed prophet to trial.

Tolman appeared with Salt Lake County District Attorney Lohra Miller at a news conference to discuss moving forward with the case against Mitchell, who is accused of kidnapping then-14-year-old Elizabeth Smart six years ago from her Federal Heights home.

Tolman and Miller both said a federal court outcome might be different because of some “procedural differences” in federal court and the opportunity to start fresh with a new judge.

Historically, federal courts are more willing to rule in favor of forcibly medicating defendants, Tolman said. Also, the process of establishing competency typically moves quicker, as well, he said.

The U.S. District Court case against Mitchell stems from an indictment handed down this year by a federal grand jury charging Mitchell and his wife and co-defendant, Wanda Eileen Barzee, with interstate kidnapping and unlawful transportation of minor.
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Mitchell has been at the Utah State Hospital since 2005. He and Barzee have refused treatment while at the hospital. But in Barzee’s case, a state court judge ruled she could be forcibly medicated, a process that was started in May.

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