COLORADO SPRINGS — Letecia Stauch, the El Paso County lady accused of murdering her stepson two years in the past, now has a trial date set for March of subsequent yr.
I spoke with Jeremy Loew, a legal lawyer who says circumstances like these are difficult.
“Instances which are large, murder circumstances, circumstances which are throughout state strains like this one, circumstances the place there may be psychological well being, they will drag on for years,” stated Loew.
A part of the explanation this case is dragging on is Stauch first pleaded not responsible however then modified her plea to not responsible by motive of madness final February.
“In a case like Letecia Stauch, the problem is that she’s not going anyplace. She’s sitting in jail. If a conviction does come, she’s simply going to be sitting in a special jail, in a jail. So, the courts wish to be certain that she has the fitting to a good trial and that all the psychological well being points have been addressed in order that it doesn’t come again on attraction.”
The decide confirmed that though a trial date has been set, issues might change.
The “clock for a speedy trial” is not going to begin till all of Strauch’s evaluations are full by December. These assessments will decide if she was sane on the time of the alleged crime.
It’s necessary to know the distinction between competency and sanity. Competency determines if a defendant can stand trial and perceive the proceedings. Sanity determines if a defendant knew what they had been doing on the time of the crime. Stauch has been discovered competent to face trial twice.
Loew broke down the reasoning behind all of those evaluations earlier than the trial.
“They wish to guarantee that the trial is completed completely in order that they don’t should do a second trial and one of the simplest ways to do this is to make sure that all of the psychological well being points and all of the competency and something that might intrude along with her having a good trial has been addressed in order that they solely have to do that case as soon as,” stated Loew.
The protection may have an out-of-state professional carry out the psychological well being analysis on the El Paso County Jail by December.
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