Barzee unfit for trial, 2 doctors say

Wanda Barzee is not competent to stand trial, according to both court-appointed doctors assigned to evaluate her.

Barzee, along with Brian David Mitchell, is charged with kidnapping and assaulting Elizabeth Smart. Legal proceedings for both defendants have been on hold for several months while mental competency evaluations were conducted.

Thursday, 3rd District Judge Judith Atherton granted a defense motion to hold an evidentiary hearing on Barzee's mental examination reports, which were completed last week. Neither Salt Lake District Attorney David Yocom nor defense attorney Scott Williams would reveal what conclusions were reached by evaluators.

However, the motion filed by the defense Thursday requesting the hearing said, "both of the evaluations conclude that defendant (a) suffers from a psychotic mental illness (b) which severely impacts her present capacity to engage in reasoned choice of legal strategies."

Further, defense lawyers said their client was "presently incompetent to stand trial," and one doctor "appears to recommend forced medication of defendant towards the end of restoring her to competency," according to court documents.

Barzee, however, requested a hearing to challenge the conclusion of those findings and requested the hearing be closed, according to court documents. Both requests were granted Thursday by Atherton. The Deseret Morning News, KSL-TV and the Utah Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists plan to challenge the decision to close the proceedings.

On Friday, Yocom acknowledged that prosecutors "didn't expect (the defense) would be contesting the finding of incompetency." He said, however, it was just another step in the process.

Each of the evaluators will probably be subpoenaed to testify during the competency hearing.

If Atherton rules at the conclusion of the hearing that Barzee is indeed not competent to stand trial, she would be committed to the Utah State Hospital. After 90 days, the hospital would report back to the court for an update.

If Barzee at that time was still determined to not be competent to stand trial, another status hearing would be scheduled in 3rd District Court within six months. Barzee would then get another hearing 18 months from that point if determined to still be incompetent to stand trial. After that, she could be turned over to Department of Human Services for commitment.

If a judge does rule Barzee is incompetent to stand trial, Yocom said it would not change the prosecution's game plan.

"It delays things, but it doesn't delay it permanently," he said. "We would hope that within the first 90 days with appropriate treatment she would have her competency restored."

A closed-door competency hearing was also scheduled for Jan. 27 for Mitchell. The two doctors assigned to evaluate his mental competency have reached separate conclusions. After hearing testimony in that hearing, Atherton is expected to make a ruling whether Mitchell is competent to stand trial.

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com