Posted on 03/10/2002 4:18:21 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
Ever since Russell Weston, charged with killing two officers in the Capitol in 1998, failed to get the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the constitutionality of forcing him and other mentally ill defendants to take drugs just to make them trial-ready (and in Weston’s case, potentially execution-ready), a legal and ethical dilemma has festered in the nation.
The latest twist: This month the Federal Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in the case of United States v. Charles Thomas Sell refused to overturn a lower court’s decision to allow the federal government to forcibly medicate the defendant Sells in order to hopefully return him to competency to face a trial he has been awaiting for four years.
"It’s a shocking, inhumane decision. Now, all the government needs are allegations and a cooperative psychiatrist to forcibly drug any citizen,” said Andrew Schlafly, General Counsel for the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, a group that filed a brief opposing the government drugging.
Dr. Sell, a St. Louis dentist, has been imprisoned for more than four years, after being charged with Medicaid fraud and other offenses that matured after his indictment.
Like the Weston case where the government -- even after getting its way in court -- faced a medical profession unwilling to fully medicate Weston, who is convinced he has power over life and death, there is nothing simple about the facts of the Sell case, or the workings of his apparently diseased mind.
The Facts
On May 16, 1997, Sell was charged in a federal criminal complaint with making false representations in connection with payments for health care services. The government alleged that Sell and his wife submitted false claims to Medicaid and private insurance companies for dental services not provided, including false documentation and bogus x-rays in support of these claims.
On July 30, 1997, an indictment was returned against Sell and his wife, charging them with fifty-six counts of mail fraud, six counts of Medicaid fraud, and one count of money-laundering.
In August 1997, Sell was released on bond.
But then on January 22, 1998, the government filed a bond revocation petition alleging that Sell had violated the conditions of his release by attempting to intimidate a witness. A warrant was issued for Sell’s arrest and he was brought before a magistrate judge for a first appearance.
"Sell’s behavior at this appearance was out of control. He screamed, shouted, and used racial epithets. Nonetheless, the judge tried to proceed, but when she advised Sell of his rights, he leaned towards her and spit directly in her face,” according to a summary in the recent court ruling.
On January 26, 1998, a bond revocation hearing was held, and shortly thereafter, the court ordered Sell’s bond revoked and that he be detained. At this hearing, the court received evidence that Sell’s mental condition was deteriorating. Sell was not sleeping at night because he expected the FBI to barge into his house. A psychiatrist reported that Sell soon could become a danger to himself and others.
On April 23, 1998, Sell was charged in a second indictment with conspiring and attempting to kill a witness and an FBI agent. The government contended that Sell and his wife asked a hit man to plot the murder of a former employee at his dental office who planned to testify against him on the fraud charges.
Plotting To Kill FBI Agent
The government also alleged that Sell plotted to kill the African-American FBI agent who had arrested him.
During the next several months, the trial date was continued on a number of occasions at the request of both parties. Eventually, both Sell’s psychologist and the government psychologist diagnosed Sell with "delusional disorder, persecutory type.”
Two experts testified in favor of using anti-psychotic medication in the treatment of Sell, and testified that it was the only way he could be restored to competency. They testified that Sell was in need of anti-psychotic medication, that his condition would continue to deteriorate without it, that his behavior could be dangerous, and that anti-psychotic medication was likely to restore him to competency.
On August 9, 2000, the magistrate entered an order finding that Sell posed a danger to himself and others. Based on this finding, the magistrate authorized the government to forcibly medicate Sell with anti-psychotic medication.
In April 2001, the district court reversed the magistrate’s finding that Sell posed a danger to himself and others, noting that the evidence in the record was insufficient to support such a finding.
Despite this reversal, the district court affirmed the magistrate’s order, holding that the government’s interest in restoring Sell to competency so that he could stand trial was alone sufficient to warrant forcible medication.
The Ruling
Thus matured the defendant’s appeal to the Federal Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
In the majority opinion of the Eight Circuit court (two-one split), the justices acknowledged that there is a difference of opinion on the efficacy of using anti-psychotic drugs to treat delusional disorder, but did not find that the lower court committed clear error in finding that the government proved medical appropriateness by clear and convincing evidence.
Furthermore said the majority in their opinion: "[T]he government presented evidence that the medication can reasonably be expected to minimize Sell’s delusions and render him competent for trial.”
Surprisingly, the majority stated that the additional charges did not weigh in their decision.
"Although Sell is also charged with conspiring to murder an FBI officer and a witness, we base our reasoning solely on the seriousness of the fraud charges. It is possible that Sell’s threats after his first indictment were a manifestation of his delusional disorder and we decline to make a determination about whether those charges suffice to involuntarily medicate him.”
The Dissent
The one dissenting justice was troubled by the majority’s disregarding the more serious charges. "Weston…teach[es] us that the forcible administration of anti-psychotic medication may be warranted when the government seeks to prosecute incontestably serious crimes, but not when it seeks to prosecute crimes less so.
"In that case, Russell Weston entered the Capitol building and shot three police officers, killing two of them. A grand jury indicted Weston on two counts of murder, and one count of attempted murder of a federal law officer, in addition to three counts of using a firearm in a crime of violence.”
The dissenting judge noted that even if convicted of the fraud counts, Sell would probably face less time to serve than he has already.
And the beat goes on.
Some commentators have suggested that Attorney General John Ashcroft not seek the death penalty for Weston, perhaps opening the way for an eventual trial.
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