AUGUSTA (AP) — The first person in Maine to be forced to take psychiatric medication in an effort to restore his mental capacity has been ruled competent to stand trial.
The Kennebec Journal (http://bit.ly/2pLp0jf ) reported that a judge ruled this week after 27-year-old Leroy Smith III was required to take medication under a 2015 law that aims to restore the mental capacity of defendants so they can participate in their own defense.
Smith was charged with killing his father in May 2014 and then dismembering the body.
Justice Michaela Murphy wrote in her decision that some defendants are so delusional that they’ll never be able to assist in their defense but that Smith didn’t fall into that category. Three forensic psychologists testified in January that he’d made progress while on medication.
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