COLUMBIANA, Alabama - A Shelby County judge wants to see an updated report and recommendation from state mental health officials before deciding whether charges should be dismissed against an 87-year-old man with Alzheimer's who is charged with murder in his wife's 2010 stabbing death[1] .
Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Dan Reeves on Monday held a competency review hearing for William Virgil Proctor.
Mental health officials were ready to testify at the hearing. But as the hearing began, Reeves asked that officials with the Alabama Department of Mental Health's Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility in Tuscaloosa - where Proctor is now held - update their evaluation of Proctor and recommendations for what should be done with him. The judge continued the hearing for 30 days.
Two experts, including one from Taylor Hardin, had concluded in reports[2] dated this year and in 2012 that Proctor was not competent to stand trial and both suggested he be housed in secured medical facilities.
Proctor's attorneys argue the murder charge should be dismissed and Proctor released because of his mental and physical condition.
"He is no longer a danger to himself or others - other than his failing physical health," said Barry Alvis, one of Proctor's attorneys.
Alvis said Proctor requires around the clock attention at Taylor Hardin.
Chief Assistant Shelby County District Attorney Jill Lee said after Monday's hearing that they would oppose the dismissal of the charge against Proctor. "It is still a murder case," she said.
Proctor is charged with murder in the May 2010 stabbing death of his wife of 38 years, Gwen Tuggle Proctor, at their home in the 1300 block of Caliston Way in Pelham.
References
- ^ wife's 2010 stabbing death (blog.al.com)
- ^ Two experts, including one from Taylor Hardin, had concluded in reports (blog.al.com)
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