today's Des Moines Register: http://desmoinesregister.com
"Sem 'was suffering from a serious psychiatric illness, which will require continuing treatment and medication in hope of controlling that illness,' Meadows' ruling said. Levi Butler, 19, was stabbed in the chest with a paring knife in the school's community dining room March 1, 2004, as horrified students looked on. Sem, a diagnosed schizophrenic, had earlier stabbed student John Killian on the right side of his face with a pen. The ruling means that Sem, who is from Pennsylvania, will undergo indefinite psychiatric treatment under state care rather than go to prison. He faced a mandatory life prison term for first-degree murder and assault with intent to inflict serious injury. Meadows ordered Sem taken to the Iowa Medical and Classification Center at Oakdale for evaluation. Sem will be held there until a judge determines he is no longer a danger to himself or the public. Legal authorities said the ruling was unusual because insanity verdicts are rare in Iowa. One exception is Loren Huss, the Des Moines man found insane in the 1986 brutal killing of Marilyn Sheets. He was released by a Polk County jury May 25 after about 19 years of confinement. (more at link) http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20050614/NEWS01/506140412/1001/RSS01 To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
