AUBURN — A judge said Wednesday that a Lewiston man charged with murder in the death of his infant son does not have to undergo a mental health evaluation that was sought by prosecutors.
Androscoggin County Superior Court Justice MaryGay Kennedy ruled following a closed-door conference that if additional information should be brought to her attention “that would support an order for the defendant to undergo a forensic evaluation,” then prosecutors and/or the defense may file a motion to address the issue at that time.
Until then, Danny Adams, 24, will remain at Androscoggin County Jail. His attorney, Donald Hornblower, asked for a bail hearing. It is scheduled for two days in late August.
A so-called Harnish hearing is held in cases that were, at one time, capital offenses, such as murder. In those cases, a judge typically will hear testimony and be presented evidence to determine whether there was probable cause to bring the charge and whether the defendant might pose a danger to the community.
Adams has been held without bail since his arrest in early January. He appeared in court in February, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and manslaughter.
Police wrote in an affidavit that Adams had forced a pacifier into the mouth of his 14-week-old son, Zade, at Adams’ apartment at 77 Rideout Ave. on the morning of Dec. 14, 2014, in an effort to keep him from crying and held it in place.
An autopsy determined the cause of death was asphyxiation.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew Crockett had filed a motion arguing that the state “anticipates that one of the likely issues in this case will be whether, at the time of the offense, the defendant was suffering from an abnormal condition of mind, or the extent to which he was unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct.”
He wrote that in order to get the “most accurate determination of a suspect’s state of mind at the time of the offense, it is best to perform such an evaluation as close in time to the crime as possible.”
Under Maine law, prosecutors may file motions seeking to have the court order mental health evaluations of a defendant, but they must show cause.
In answering the state’s motion, Hornblower wrote that “if the state believes it has a good-faith basis to believe the defendant had an abnormal condition of mind at the time of the offense . . . then the state’s charges are unfair, unethical and should be dismissed.”
Hornblower also wrote that forcing Adams to participate in a forensic evaluation would have violated his constitutional rights.
Adams told police in an earlier interview that he had injected heroin the night before at a friend’s house, then smoked marijuana with Kaitlyn Baker, Zade’s mother, when Adams got to the apartment he shared with Zade and Baker. He said he had bruised Zade’s ears when he squeezed them with his thumb and fingers as he held the head of the baby, who continued to cry, according to court documents.
cwilliams@sunjournal.com
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