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    iElvis is Now Funded by Peter ThielStassa Edwards
    5/11/16 5:16pm

    Some people are going to rage about this, but this is kind of a point that needs to be made. All this overheated anti-abortion rhetoric absolutely has the potential to inspire unbalanced nutjobs like Dear. The anti-choice movement needs to stop behaving like it doesn’t, and that it isn’t responsible for what happens.

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      Middle Class White Liberal Male In His 20siElvis is Now Funded by Peter Thiel
      5/11/16 5:18pm

      Hi there,

      Do you know that in 2016 Donald Trump is the GOP nominee for the Presidency of the United States of America?

      Just figured you might not know that, because your comment leads me to believe you think we are talking about reasonable people here.

      Love,

      MCWLMIH2s

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      ad infinitumiElvis is Now Funded by Peter Thiel
      5/11/16 5:28pm

      The anti-choice (or to use the term I prefer, pro-forced-birth) movement, or at least a significant number of its adherents, is well aware that its rhetoric inspires unbalanced nutjobs to commit murder.

      They not be willing to risk their own freedom by murdering doctors who perform abortions and patients who visit clinics that provide comprehensive women’s health care, but inspiring people like Dear to do it for them is exactly what they’re hoping for. It’s not a bug, it’s a feature.

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    NCRStassa Edwards
    5/11/16 5:15pm

    Not competent to stand trial but purchasing an AK-47 and a pile of other guns - A-OK!

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      RiotPunkGothGrrrlNCR
      5/11/16 5:20pm

      Of course. The state determined he needed those guns to “protect himself” in bathrooms.

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      SmedleyButlerNCR
      5/11/16 5:26pm

      “All of his weapons were legally purchased.”

      America, fuck yeah!

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    JozeeDozeeStassa Edwards
    5/11/16 5:27pm

    This guy knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s not crazy.

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      GinAndTonic Got Stuck in the BarneyJozeeDozee
      5/11/16 5:33pm

      Maybe both of those things are true- that’s what I believe, anyway.

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      Sir HalffastJozeeDozee
      5/11/16 5:36pm

      Maybe, maybe not. On one hand, look at him and listen to his statements, pretty unhinged. On the other hand, if he ever “un-crazys” himself, he’ll still be on the hook. Incompetency to stand trial doesn’t waive charges and stays any applicable statutes of limitations, so he’s still going to get the book eventually.

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    Hoyo AfrikaStassa Edwards
    5/11/16 5:19pm

    This guy studied One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest before he decided on his murderous rampage. White guy shoots up a clinic? Crazy. Brown/Muslim/Arab/black/Latino guy shoots someone or something? Thug/terrorist/cartel member/etc.

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      KatmanduHoyo Afrika
      5/11/16 5:26pm

      Brown/Muslim/Arab/black/Latino guy shoots someone or something? Thug/terrorist/cartel member/etc.

      And dead.

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      Classicblanca FilmHoyo Afrika
      5/11/16 5:30pm

      You can’t study enough to make your eyes do that. I usually call bullshit on the insanity defense thing, and would love to in this case, but healthy people can’t fake exophthalmos.

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    SqarrStassa Edwards
    5/11/16 5:22pm

    Can the people who celebrated his terrorist act be considered “fit” in the ways that he can’t be?

    Either way, they are directly responsible for his actions and any like them and deserve every consequence he won’t receive.

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      zombiepandaSqarr
      5/11/16 6:17pm

      Right? Someone needs to at least sue, if not prosecute, Center for Medical Progress (god I hate typing that) for inciting this fucker. Dear may have pulled the trigger, but there is certainly plenty of blood on Dan Deleiden’s hands.

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      Sqarrzombiepanda
      5/11/16 6:18pm

      Yes.

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    festivusaziliStassa Edwards
    5/11/16 5:32pm

    Just a quick reminder that being found incompetent to stand trial does not mean he is off the hook. He is going to be held in a secure psychiatric facility, and will face trial in the even he is ever found to be competent.

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      hooplockedfestivusazili
      5/11/16 6:21pm

      This. He hasn’t been found not guilty by reason of insanity, which is different. If treatment is effective he could go on trial for something eventually. And frankly, we don’t know if he’s decompensated further since the murders took place.

      (Would not want to be on that treatment team.)

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      festivusazilihooplocked
      5/11/16 6:23pm

      And even if he’d been found not guilty by insanity, he’d still be in a secure treament facility for the rest of his life. The article didn’t say otherwise, I just know a lot of people have this image of “the insanity defense” as a get out of jail free card, when a lot of defense attorneys feel that an insanity finding is worse for their clients than a guilty verdict.

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    Yog-Sothoth is the GateStassa Edwards
    5/11/16 5:28pm

    When Christians talk about the messages they receive from their invisible guides, we are to respect them as psychologically sound and even possessed of more integrity than the rest of us.

    When Christians act on the messages they claim to receive from their invisible guides, we are to treat them as not mentally competent, and thus not accountable for their own actions.

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      TheBurnersMyDestinationYog-Sothoth is the Gate
      5/11/16 5:38pm

      I love that weird bit of doublethink that runs through the religious right in the US. You are supposed to have this bizarre sort of 'communication' with God, wherein he affirms what you wanted to do anyway (at least, that is how it typically seems to work). But actually hearing voices makes you a nut. So God hasn't bothered to actually talk to anyone in a couple thousand years (I get it, I'm antisocial too) but all your 'gut feelings' are how he communicates. Makes total sense.

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      ErgatesYog-Sothoth is the Gate
      5/11/16 6:13pm

      Whilst I’m with you on your first point, “not mentally competent” isn’t at all the same as “not accountable”. If he’s treated and his mental health improves, he can still be tried.

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    CaliforlifeStassa Edwards
    5/11/16 5:49pm

    White man shoots up abortion clinic, is judged unfit for trail. ANY OTHER RACE IN AMERICA DOES THE SAME: death penalty/fit for trial; given terrible “defense” lawyer; sentenced in about 2 weeks, never heard from again.

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      MalcireCaliforlife
      5/11/16 8:24pm

      Unfit to stand trial and an insanity defense are different things. A bit confusing to a layman (like myself) but someone up above was kind enough to explain:

      Basically being incompetent to stand trial means either unable to understand the proceedings and or unable to convene with defense enough to aid in the defense. But his mental state during the crime doesn’t actually validate or invalidate competence for trial.

      Also once he is declared fit (assuming he ever is) he goes back to trial. At which point he could make an insanity plea which if accepted would render him innocent.

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      CaliforlifeMalcire
      5/12/16 2:38pm

      Thank you.

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    agenttrembleStassa Edwards
    5/11/16 5:51pm

    Where’s Jack McCoy when you need him >:|

    Can any lawyers explain what is actually the basis for deciding whether someone is competent to stand trial? Law and Order would have me believe it’s whether they know what they did was wrong, but if you can do the moral calculus of “killing babies* is wrong, so I’m going to kill the people that kill babies, which is also wrong, but will result in a net good of 2,997 babies saved” surely your insanity defense goes out the window?

    *it’s not killing and they’re not babies, go fuck yourself to hell, Robert

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      c_lamotteagenttremble
      5/11/16 6:05pm

      Without checking any sources, it’s whether the defendant has enough of a grip to assist in his defense. Competence to stand trial and insanity defense are different things.

      ETA: Assuming he’s being tried in state court and not federal: “Incompetent to proceed” means that, as a result of a mental disability or developmental disability, the defendant does not have sufficient present ability to consult with the defendant’s lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding in order to assist in the defense, or that, as a result of a mental disability or developmental disability, the defendant does not have a rational and factual understanding of the criminal proceedings.

      Colorado Revised Statutes 16-8.5-101

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      AngstSporkagenttremble
      5/11/16 6:29pm

      Do you understand the charges against you, including the consequences of a guilty verdict?

      Can you substantively communicate with your attorney and contribute to your defense?

      If you're not capable of these tasks, the legal system considers it unethical to try you, though you are neither innocent nor free.

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    teamPenguinStassa Edwards
    5/11/16 6:45pm

    “killed three and saved 3,000 babies.”

    No. No you f*cking didn’t. You killed three people. You didn’t “save” anyone.

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