Accused Planned Parenthood shooter Robert Dear claims he's being forced medication at state mental

Accused Planned Parenthood shooter Robert Dear claims he's being forced medication at state mental hospital

Looking increasingly gaunt in a blue jumpsuit, Planned Parenthood shooting suspect Robert Lewis Dear Jr. entered a Colorado Springs courtroom on Tuesday claiming he has been forcibly medicated while held at the state psychiatric hospital. Dear, 58, railed about secrecy orders in his case, referred to unborn children being "slaughtered" at Planned Parenthood and complained about a pending request by his attorneys to bar him from speaking with journalists.

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Little of substance was decided at the hearing, and it is unclear if Dear's claim of forced medications is true. The issue could help determine a timeline in the case because Dear can't be brought to trial unless a judge determines he is capable of understanding the proceedings.
Dear has been held at the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo since May, when 4th Judicial District Chief Judge Gilbert Martinez ruled Dear mentally unfit to proceed based on his delusional beliefs. Martinez affirmed his ruling at a 90-day review in August, and the question will again arise at a review hearing set for Nov. 17.
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Tuesday's hearing lasted just less than an hour and involved what May called "technical motions" over access to documents in the case. For example, prosecutors argued for copies of mental health records being used by state evaluators to assess Dear's mental state, and attorneys in a civil case filed by shooting victims asked for copies of sealed police reports and other records.

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"Don't worry, he won't release anything. It's all secret," Dear said of the judge. He later added: "I'm going to release the abortions photos of all the babies that's been slaughtered." Dear is expected to be present in court for his upcoming competency review in November. The request to bar him from contacting reporters may also be addressed at that time. He faces 179 counts, including eight charges of first-degree murder, for the Nov. 27 shootings at the city's only Planned Parenthood clinic. Ke'Arre Stewart, Jennifer Markovsky and University of Colorado at Colorado Springs police officer Garrett Swasey died at the women's clinic. Nine other people - five of them law enforcement officers - were wounded during the course of a five-hour standoff.

http://gazette.com/accused-planned-parenthood-shooter-robert-dear-claims-hes-being-forced-medication-at-state-mental-hospital/article/1588065