Exam finds accused competent for trial
Doctors: Wells man had been mentally unfit
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By Brent Curtis Staff Writer - Published: November 18, 2009
A Wells man deemed incompetent to stand trial for killing his mother in 2001 might now be mentally fit to appear in a courtroom, according to a psychiatric examination conducted earlier this year.
But whether Eugene Hunter is in fact competent now and was insane at the time that he allegedly shot and killed Joan Hunter on Jan. 22, 2001, is a question Rutland District Court Judge Thomas Zonay will consider later this month.
Hunter, 34, was deemed incompetent to stand trial on a charge of second-degree murder after a pair of forensic psychiatrists agreed he was mentally unfit in December 2004.
But following a re-examination of Hunter in April, Dr. Jonathan Weker, a psychiatrist who examined Hunter in 2004, wrote that his schizophrenia had abated to the point that he was able to participate in his own legal defense.
"(Hunter) has a rational as well as factual understanding of the proceedings against him. He was able to appreciate what he has been charged with, the magnitude of the alleged offense and the venue of the trial ... (Hunter) demonstrated a realistic grasp of the roles of fundamental personages in his trial and was able to understand concepts of court procedure," Weker said.
Much of Weker's 32-page report was withheld by the court on the grounds that the information is not yet public, Hunter's attorney Kevin Griffin said.
Weker made it clear that he believed not only that Hunter was now competent to stand trial but that he was insane at the time that he shot his mother.
The psychiatrist said he based that conclusion on a number of factors gathered in the investigation following Joan Hunter's killing. Information provided by Eugene Hunter's sister indicated that Hunter was "extremely paranoid and psychotic ... on the basis of acute schizophrenia" prior to shooting at the home Hunter shared with his mother on Endless Brook Road.
Hunter's sister told police and Weker that her brother believed people - including the mafia - were in or near the house trying to kill him, Weker said. She said Hunter withdrew to his room, was afraid to go outside and would often go room to room searching for people he believed were in the house.
"The nature and magnitude of such delusions or hallucinations, had they in fact been extant at the time, would have been in keeping with the points noted above and would have deprived him of adequate capacity to appreciate the criminality of his act," Weker wrote.
Weker's report promises to be a key part of a competency and hospitalization evaluation before Zonay on Nov. 30. Griffin said the judge must first decide whether Hunter is competent to stand trial. He will then decide whether Hunter should be hospitalized pending a jury trial.
"It's ultimately going to be up to a jury to decide if he is guilty or not or insane or not," Griffin said.
Absent from Hunter's case file at this point is any evaluation by the psychiatrist employed by the prosecution in 2004, who offered a second - and complementary - opinion on Hunter's competency at that time.
Rutland County State's Attorney Marc Brierre could not be reached on Monday to say whether another evaluation would be forthcoming or whether prosecutors planned to argue against Weker's conclusion that Hunter was insane at the time when he allegedly killed his mother.
Griffin said Monday that Hunter would be sent to Vermont State Hospital for further analysis if the court ruled that he was insane during the killing. The hospital, Griffin said, would determine whether Hunter should remain hospitalized or receive some form of lesser treatment.
But in either case, Griffin said Hunter would continue to be monitored.
"Eugene Hunter will continue to be reviewed closely for the rest of his natural life," he said.
brent.curtis@rutlandherald.com
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