Dugard kidnap suspect is not fit for trial, says lawyer

THE US man charged with kidnapping and raping long- time captive Jaycee Dugard has “a serious mental illness” and “may not be competent to be a defendant,” his defence lawyer said in court papers.

Susan Gellman, a deputy public defender in El Dorado County, California, offered the blunt assessment of Phillip Garrido’s fitness to stand trial while disputing assertions by prosecutors that she should be prohibited from trying to contact Dugard because Garrido is using her to manipulate his rescued captive.

“The district attorney is making the very same mistake that parole authorities made concerning Mr Garrido for many years,” Gellman wrote, arguing that Garrido’s actions aren’t evidence of manipulation.

“He is ignoring the signs of serious mental illness. It appears that Phillip Garrido has been hearing voices of angels for years.”

Gellman filed the papers in response to a request by prosecutors for a protective order that would keep her, as well as Garrido, from attempting to communicate with Dugard, either directly or indirectly.

She is asking the judge overseeing the case either to compel the district attorney to provide her with Dugard’s address or to appoint a neutral party to serve as a go-between between her and Dugard.

“The court can certainly refuse to provide a witness’s location,” Gellman wrote. “However, in a case like this, it would make settlement far more difficult if counsel were forever foreclosed from approaching the idea of contact again.”

In seeking the official buffer earlier this month, District Attorney Vern Pierson described Garrido as a “master manipulator”, who had sought to intimidate Dugard into not cooperating with authorities through letters he wrote to a Sacramento TV station and messages Gellman conveyed to a lawyer who briefly represented Dugard.

Prosecutors could not be reached for comment, when Gellman’s filing was submitted. The hearing for a protective order is scheduled to be heard today.

Gellman said Garrido is too psychologically impaired to attempt to harass Dugard from afar.

Gellman so far has not formally indicated that she plans to advise him to plead not guilty by reason of insanity or to argue he is incompetent to stand trial.