Justices weigh morality of medicating nonviolent defendants
From Bill Mears
CNN Washington Bureau
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Almost from the time of Dr. Thomas Sell's arrest, psychiatrists who examined him noted an increasing occurrence of psychotic episodes. At a 1998 court appearance, Sell allegedly spit at a federal magistrate and shouted racial slurs.
Psychiatrists testified that Sell, 53, suffers from a "delusional disorder of the persecutory type" and that he "could become a danger to himself and others."
The St. Louis, Missouri, dentist, and his wife were accused in 1997 of Medicaid fraud and money laundering. Sell later was charged with conspiring to murder a witness and an FBI agent.
Supreme Court justices on Monday will hear Sell's case, but not concerning the charges that he is imprisoned for. Rather, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether non-violent defendants can be forcibly medicated to render them competent to stand trial.
Arguments will be made beginning at 10 a.m. EST Monday.
A court ruled Sell incompetent to assist in his defense, and he was later ordered to take anti-psychotic medication. Sell appealed, and he has spent the past five years in federal prison while the case worked its way through the legal system. He has yet to stand trial on the charges against him.
Sell's doctors say his behavior has grown increasingly erratic over the years, aggravated, they claim, by his incarceration and his fears the FBI is out to get him.
His lawyers argue forced medication is not the right choice and would violate his right to control his body. "A mentally incompetent individual will lose his right to refuse medication based solely on the government's unproven assertion that the individual is guilty of a nonviolent crime," his lawyers wrote in their appeal to the Supreme Court.
A number of medical ethicists support Sell's claim, calling forced medication of non-violent defendants "cognitive censorship." They worry about the government being allowed to drug someone it opposes in court.
Lower federal courts have disagreed with the dentist, saying the government has "an essential interest in bringing a defendant to trial," and forced medication would actually help Sell in his defense, since he would be able to communicate effectively with counsel.
Forced medication of defendants has been allowed for a number of years, but usually for serious, violent crimes. An example is Russell Weston, accused in a shooting spree in the U.S. Capitol building in 1998 that left two police officers dead. Doctors say his mental condition is improving after being ordered more than a year ago to take antipsychotic medicine. He could face trial later this fall.
The case is Sell v. U.S., 02-5664.
