GUILTY MT - Sherry Arnold, 43, Sidney, 7 Jan 2012 - #4

DNA Solves
DNA Solves
DNA Solves

New Posts

I guess this attorney is saying an 11 year old doesn't know better than to grabbed a woman off the street and do horrible things to her, then hide her body. BUH-loney!
 
Elley Mae said:
Montana murder case suspect seeks to avoid trial

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...ME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2014-03-24-14-56-07

A defense expert testified Monday that a Colorado man is unfit for trial in the murder of a Montana teacher because he is easily confused and displays the intelligence of an 11-year-old, leaving him unable to understand the case against him.
Click to expand...

He knew what he was doing when he grabbed Sherry off the road and murdered her. He may not be a fit person to live in society but he is fit enough to understand how he murdered someone. Either put him in prison for the rest of his life or execute him.
 
Jacie Estes said:
He knew what he was doing when he grabbed Sherry off the road and murdered her. He may not be a fit person to live in society but he is fit enough to understand how he murdered someone. Either put him in prison for the rest of his life or execute him.
Click to expand...

Yep. If he is so mentally ill that he will blindly do what somebody tells him, then he is unfit for society.
 
Jacie Estes said:
State expert says Spell fit for trial

http://www.ktvq.com/news/state-expert-says-spell-fit-for-trial/
Click to expand...


I am relieved to see this as well. I couldn't help but snark at Spell having the "mentality" of an 11 year old. My son is 11. He knows what is wrong and what is right. That just totally insulted this entire age range if you ask me. MOO
I have been reading up on this case. Just makes my heart ache for her family and her school family as well. I am just glad that Sherry was given a proper burial and her family and friends got the chance to say goodbye. I don't think time ever eases the pain and pure heart ache of losing someone. I just pray that this family gets some well deserved peace and comfort. RIP Sherry.
 
Anything either of them say is self-serving IMO. I can't even look at their pictures without getting mad. Both should be locked up forever. If Spell doesn't know not to grab somebody and choke the life out of them, then he will always be a danger. My guess is, they both thought it was a great thing to do, and enjoyed every minute of it.
 
http://www.tribtown.com/view/story/b33d4121fda248648c95dc9c762e50f4/MT--Missing-Montana-Teacher

An attorney for Michael Spell, 25, filed a petition late Friday asking the justices to rule that District Judge Richard Simonton was wrong when he concluded in May that Spell could assist in his own defense...

Simonton, the judge, had sided with the conclusions of Dr. Virginia Hill, a psychiatrist from the state mental hospital in Warm Springs who evaluated Spell. She said Spell had matured mentally since being ruled mentally incompetent in a previous legal proceeding in Colorado and he had benefited from being off drugs since his arrest in Arnold's death.
Click to expand...

His trial date is November 17.
 
mikkismom said:
Spell fights trial ruling

http://www.willistonherald.com/news...cle_551a5198-2b09-11e4-aa48-001a4bcf887a.html
Click to expand...
I guess I don't know what the defense is saying here. He is not going to get the death penalty. So do they think because he can't read or write very well, he should be set free? He should plead guilty and take his sentence. If he's not smart enough, or doesn't know right from wrong, he needs to be locked up. What's to say he won't do it again if he has a short sentence and hooks up with another ?
 
If the evaluation needs to be in his typical setting, put him in a closed environment [man camp] with murderers, druggies, manipulators and illiterates. That way if he kills or harms someone again, it is no great loss. IMHO

****

Simonton, the judge, had sided with the conclusions of Dr. Virginia Hill, a psychiatrist from the state mental hospital in Warm Springs who evaluated Spell. She said Spell had matured mentally since being ruled mentally incompetent in a previous legal proceeding in Colorado and he had benefited from being off drugs since his arrest in Arnold's death.

Avignone said Hill has no expertise in intellectual disabilities, didn't spend enough time with Spell and inappropriately evaluated him at the Warm Springs facility, when he should have been evaluated in his typical community setting. http://www.willistonherald.com/news...cle_551a5198-2b09-11e4-aa48-001a4bcf887a.html
 
http://www.bhpioneer.com/news/state_news/article_6e38b66a-5007-11e4-a10f-13b6b9171dcd.html

The Montana Supreme Court rejected a Colorado man's petition to be declared unfit to stand trial in the murder of a high school teacher in the Bakken oil patch, as the case approaches a Nov. 17 trial...

Justices said that state District Judge Richard Simonton acted within his discretion when he ruled in May that Spell's competency had been restored since a 2010 drug case in Colorado in which he was declared incompetent.

Simonton made a "fact-driven determination," justices wrote, adding that it would be inappropriate for them to intervene at this stage in the case.
Click to expand...
 
http://www.columbusceo.com/content/stories/apexchange/2014/10/21/us--missing-montana-teacher.html

A Colorado man is set to plead guilty to killing a small-town Montana high school teacher in a slaying that shone a harsh light on the darker side of the Northern Plains' oil boom.

A plea agreement with prosecutors filed Tuesday calls for a 100-year sentence for Michael Keith Spell, 25, on a charge of deliberate homicide for the 2012 death of Sherry Arnold. A charge of attempted kidnapping would be dropped.

Spell is due to appear Wednesday before state District Judge Richard Simonton in Sidney, a town of 6,200 near the North Dakota border.
Click to expand...
 
Since the defense thinks he is a retarded man who doesn't know right from wrong, I hope they lock him up for life. If he knows no boudaries and can be talked into anything, he needs to be locked away. He should have received treatment before, not after!
 
http://www.kbzk.com/news/update-waters-receives-100-year-sentence-for-murder-of-sherry-arnold/

One of the two men responsible for the 2012 murder of Sidney school teacher Sherry Arnold was sentenced on Monday to 100 years in prison with 20 years suspended.

Lester Van Waters, 50, was sentenced by Judge Richard Simonton in Richland County District Court, for his involvement in the crack cocaine-fueled kidnapping and murder of Arnold...

Spell's sentencing hearing has not been set.
Click to expand...
 
One hundred years minus whatever and he can still get out and still wreak havoc. That judge was kinda soft with believing his apology. "I'm sorry for your loss" sounds like he's at a funeral for a friend. Sickening to me. MOO
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DNASolves

Who is Escambia County John Doe (1989)?

Members online

... and 236 more.
Total: 1,947 (members: 237, guests: 1,710)

Online statistics

Members online
237
Guests online
1,710
Total visitors
1,947
Totals may include hidden visitors.

Forum statistics

Threads
599,532
Messages
18,096,209
Members
230,871
Latest member
Where is Jennifer*
Back
Top