Miscellaneous

Insanity in Seattle

By Anne Skove, Esq.

The man who killed one and wounded five when he shot up the Jewish Federation in Seattle believes he was on a mission from God, though we think God would be shocked to hear it.

An expert retained by defense counsel testified that the shooter, Naveed Haq, is bipolar. Receiving messages directly from God, believing he could bring peace to the Middle East through his violent actions, randomly giving out his Social Security number to the dispatcher after calling 911 to report his crime, and experiencing an inexplicable burst of hyperactivity -- all of these things, say the expert, amount to Haq's legal insanity.

Jurors heard this testimony this week. Next week they will hear from the prosecution witnesses, who are expected to say that Haq was sane enough to plan the attack and seemed normal to famiy members shortly before the rampage.

See Defense Psychiatrist Says Jewish Federation Suspect Was Psychotic, Tracy Johnson, Seattle Post-Intelligencer (May 6, 2008).

Thanks to Ron Kessler for alerting us to this case and story.

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on May 08, 2008 (boomark / email).