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Thread: Cornell Antoine McNeal Sentenced to LWOP in 2014 KS Rape/Murder of Letitia "Tish" Davis

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    Cornell Antoine McNeal Sentenced to LWOP in 2014 KS Rape/Murder of Letitia "Tish" Davis


    Letitia Davis, 36




    Revised charges filed in Fairmount Park attack

    By Ashley Arnold
    ken.com

    WICHITA, Kansas – After the death of 36 year old Letitia Davis, raped, beaten, burned and ultimately murdered after incidents on November 14th, the wait began for charges to be amended in the case against 26 year old Cornell McNeal changing from attempted capital murder to capital murder: those changes came Wednesday morning.

    Previous:


    “No, not really. We kind of anticipated this happening so we’re prepared,” Mark Rudy with the public defender’s office.

    McNeal now faces that charge with an alternative of murder in the first degree as well as one count each of rape and arson.

    “The simplest thing right now is it goes from – it means death – the death penalty is an option,” said Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett, “and it was not before in an attempted capital murder.”

    Police still haven’t said how they were able to link McNeal’s DNA to the crime itself but the district attorney was able to shed some light on why this case is eligible for capital murder charges since it takes a certain set of circumstances for a charge like this to be made.

    “In Kansas, it’s very restrictive, multiple deaths,” said Bennett, “a death occurring during the course of a sexual assault obviously that’s the situation with the Fairmount Park situation…So those are the types of cases.”

    The case is due to the courts for a preliminary hearing on December 9th, but officials from both the state and the defense side say they don’t believe the case will actually head to court on that date. McNeal’s bond was also increased $1.25 million.

    http://ksn.com/2014/11/25/revised-ch...t-park-attack/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Eyewitness News working to keep McNeal case open

    WICHITA, Kan. - Defense attorneys for the man accused of raping and killing a Wichita woman don't want part of the case made public.

    Cornell McNeal is charged with capital murder for the death of Letitia Davis.

    Davis was found in Fairmount Park. Investigators say she had been raped and set on fire.

    Since July 1, probable cause affidavits have been open record. This means you, the public, get to see details on why someone was arrested.

    Eyewitness News filed to get this information about Cornell McNeal, but his attorneys have now objected to it being released.

    Eyewitness News believes in open and transparent government. That's why we will fight to keep information like this accessible.

    The judge in the case will likely set a hearing date on Tuesday. We will be in the courtroom to tell the judge why we believe this part of the case should remain open.

    The change in the law came about after a Johnson County couple could not find out why police searched their home. After spending thousands in legal fees, they discovered authorities mistakenly thought tea leaves were marijuana.

    Before the law changed., Kansas was the only state that automatically sealed all probable cause documents.

    http://www.kwch.com/news/local-news/...-open/30128758
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Affidavit: Broken phone found at Fairmount scene linked to McNeal

    WICHITA, Kansas – Cornell Antoine McNeal made an appearance in court on Friday afternoon, regarding the public release of the probable cause affidavit. Judge Ben Burgess ordered the release of the probable cause in the Fairmount murder case.

    McNeal was charged with capital murder and rape of Letitia Davis in Fairmount Park. According to McNeal’s attorney, there were two affidavits of probable cause; one before the death of Davis, and one after.

    According the affidavit, a broken cell phone was found near the scene of the crime while police were investigating. The cell phone was tracked back to its owner, Cornell McNeal (see page 2).

    DOCUMENT LINK | McNeal Probable Cause Affidavits (.pdf 4MB)

    Forensics samples collected from Letitia Davis were also linked to a McNeal, from a previous case (near end of page 2).

    McNeal’s defense attorney said releasing the probable cause affidavit would be “to the detriment of the defendant” and that details of the case could put him in danger.

    Lyndon Vix, a lawyer representing local media, says the law was changed “in favor of access” and public disclosure.

    http://ksn.com/2014/12/12/judge-to-d...t-murder-case/
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Records to be released in case of woman raped, set on fire

    TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas judge has ruled that more information about a Wichita man charged in a sexual assault and fatal burning must be released to the media.

    The Associated Press, The Wichita Eagle and broadcasters KWCH, KAKE and KSN went to court Friday pursuing the probable cause affidavits in the case against Cornell McNeal.

    The 26-year-old is charged with one count of capital murder or an alternative count of first-degree murder in the death of Letitia "Tish" Davis. The mother of four suffered from burns on more than half her body and cuts on her head in the Nov. 14 attack and died Nov. 22.

    The defense argued the release of records could "endanger the life or physical safety" of McNeal because the prosecution could seek the death penalty.

    http://www.kmbc.com/news/records-to-...-fire/30216918
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Autopsy report: Fairmount Park attack victim died from burn complications

    A Wichita woman who was raped, beaten and set on fire at Fairmount Park in November died of complications of the burns and also suffered facial fractures, an autopsy report says.

    Letitia Davis, 36, had burns on about 70 percent of her body, said a report on the autopsy, conducted at the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center. The report was filed in court Tuesday.

    Cornell McNeal has been charged with capital murder in the attack on Davis, which occurred just south of the main campus of Wichita State University, near 17th and Hillside. Wichita police said Davis was walking through the park when she encountered a man who attacked her around 11 p.m. Nov. 14.

    A woman living across the street heard someone screaming for help, and her boyfriend found Davis lying nude, bloody and on fire in a ring of flaming grass near the park’s tennis court.

    The crime shocked the city.

    Davis had second- and third-degree burns on her head, torso and extremities, the autopsy report said. It also lists a number of blunt-force injuries on her head, including fractures of facial bones and cuts across her head.

    Deputy Coroner-Medical Examiner Scott Kipper found that the cause of death was “Complications of thermal injuries. Other significant conditions included blunt force injuries of the head.” He determined that her death was a homicide.

    After the attack, Davis remained in a hospital as her condition declined, the autopsy report said. She died on Nov. 22, eight days after the attack.

    A sexual-assault evidence collection kit conducted on Davis after the attack provided evidence that led to McNeal, and DNA taken from Davis’ body matched a swab from McNeal. That swab was taken from McNeal after he was implicated in a 2010 sexual assault case, according to an affidavit The Eagle obtained in December. The affidavit, from investigators, was used to justify the arrest of McNeal and the charges against him.

    McNeal, 27, remains in jail on a bond of more than $1.25 million. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 5, but it could be postponed, said Dan Dillon, spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office.

    On Jan. 26, prosecutors charged McNeal with misdemeanor battery over a Dec. 24 incident, court records show. That charge resulted from McNeal allegedly fighting with another inmate, said sheriff’s Lt. Lin Dehning.

    http://www.kansas.com/news/local/cri...le9363377.html


    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Judge finds evidence to try man on capital murder charge in Fairmount Park attack

    By Tim Potter
    The Wichita Eagle

    A judge on Thursday found enough evidence to send Cornell McNeal to trial on charges of capital murder and rape in the death of Letitia Davis, who told authorities this past November before she died that she had been beaten, raped and set on fire at Wichita’s Fairmount Park.

    What’s next: McNeal faces a Nov. 12 arraignment, at which he would plead guilty or not guilty. A trial date has not been set.

    A critically injured Davis wasn’t able to say much to a firefighter and police officer who talked to her after she was found near a charred area in Fairmount Park last November.

    But the 36-year-old woman repeated one thing consistently: that she had been raped, beaten and set on fire, witnesses testified Thursday.

    She said she didn’t know the attacker but said he was “black,” a police officer testified. The man charged with attacking her, McNeal, is African-American.

    Witnesses also testified that she had lacerations on her head, severe burns and vaginal injury.

    A sexual-assault examiner testified that she took swabs from Davis, who later died from her injuries.

    McNeal, 27, is charged with capital murder, rape and two counts of arson. McNeal is in court for his preliminary hearing. The hearing will resume Thursday afternoon after a lunch break.

    What it means: A preliminary hearing determines whether there is enough evidence to hold a trial. Under the rules, the judge has to consider evidence in a light most favorable to prosecutors. Because the main charge is capital murder, McNeal could face the death penalty if convicted. It could be more than a year before a trial is held.

    When, where: The hearing, which could last all day, is being heard before Judge Warren Wilbert on the Ninth Floor of the Sedgwick County District Courthouse, on North Main in downtown Wichita.

    Background: On the night of Nov. 14, 2014, someone attacked 36-year-old Letitia Davis as she walked through Fairmount Park, near 17th and Hillside. The attacker severely beat her, raped her and set her on fire, police said. Alerted by her screaming, a neighbor found her lying nude, bloody and on fire in a ring of flaming grass near the park's tennis court. Davis, who suffered burns on more than half of her body, died eight days later. She had told first responders that she didn’t know the attacker. Five nights after the attack, police arrested McNeal in the 2700 block of North Battin, in a neighborhood about a mile north of the park.

    Impact: The brutality of the crime shocked the city. It occurred just south of the main campus of Wichita State University, prompting WSU officials to hold a meeting to study safety issues.

    Evidence so far: DNA-sexual assault evidence taken from Davis after the attack matched a sample from McNeal, according to an investigators’ affidavit filed in court. The affidavit also said that McNeal acknowledged that he often walks in the area of the park and was in the area the night of the attack but that he denied having contact with a woman in the park. Police also said they found near the edge of the park a broken cellphone, traced to a residence that McNeal had used. McNeal also told investigators that he borrowed a woman’s lighter outside a bar near the park and that he walked away with the lighter. A woman told investigators that the night of the attack, she was outside the bar when a man borrowed her pink and white lighter and left without returning it, the affidavit said.

    Other details: McNeal also is charged with arson in a garage fire in the 1600 block of North Erie that same night. He has remained in jail on a $1.25 million bond.

    http://www.kansas.com/news/local/cri...e37174161.html


    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Second mental evaluation ordered for man accused in 2014 Fairmount Park murder

    WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The murder trial against Cornell McNeal will be put on hold while he undergoes a second mental evaluation.

    McNeal is charged with rape and capital murder in the death of Letitia Davis. Prosecutors say McNeal raped and beat Davis, then set her on fire in Fairmount Park in November 2014. She died days later at a Wichita hospital.

    On Wednesday, Judge Warren Wilbert said McNeal already had a mental evaluation and was found capable of standing trial.

    McNeal's attorneys asked for another evaluation because they said their client has not communicated with them and refuses to do so.

    Judge Wilbert asked McNeal if he had anything to say about being sent back for another evaluation.

    McNeal did not respond. On the record, Judge Wilbert noted McNeal was staring at the carpet and did not respond to him.

    Wilbert said he will wait for the results from this second evaluation to determine whether McNeal is fit to stand trial.

    http://www.kwch.com/content/news/Sec...391206211.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Why case in rape, death of woman in Fairmount Park has stalled

    By Amy Renee Leiker
    The Wichita Eagle

    On Nov. 14, 2014, a man grabbed a woman while she was walking through a park on Wichita’s north side, raped her, beat her, burned her and then left her for dead.

    She died after languishing in the hospital for eight days. The brutality and random nature of the violence shocked the community and led to efforts to increase safety in the area.

    Two years later, Letitia Davis’ accused attacker still hasn’t been arraigned on capital murder and other charges because his ability to stand trial and his mental health are in question. A trial date is set following an arraignment.

    Cornell A. McNeal willingly speaks to sheriff’s deputies at the Sedgwick County Jail, to clinic staff and to the doctor at the state-run mental hospital ordered to evaluate his state of mind.

    But for months now, he has refused to talk to his own defense attorneys or acknowledge inquiries from a judge.

    And that silence — whether it’s voluntary or not — has left the case stalled.

    Attorneys say it’s common for cases like McNeal’s to take several months — and even a few years — to reach their conclusion, especially when a defendant’s competency needs to be evaluated.

    But the wait can be discouraging for those seeking justice for the victims, said Corinne Radke, victim advocate for Wichita’s Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children.

    “It’s very frustrating to family members because you get your hopes all built up that you’re going to go to court, you’re going to get something settled maybe finally,” but then nothing happens to quicken the resolution, she said.

    ‘Lived for her kids’


    McNeal, now 28, was arrested and jailed on Nov. 19, 2014 — five days after the attack on Davis, a 36-year-old newly engaged mother of four.

    The assault took place late on a chilly Friday night in Fairmount Park, 1647 N. Yale, near Wichita State University.

    Davis was found naked, bleeding from her head and lying in a ring of flaming grass near the park’s tennis court after a resident who lives in the neighborhood heard her screams. Her attacker had set her on fire.

    She suffered severe cuts to her face, a detached ear lobe and burns to approximately 70 percent of her body, according to her autopsy report — injuries that led to her eventual death.

    Before she fell unconscious, Davis told firefighters she didn’t know the man who had assaulted her.

    After pleas to the public for help in finding the man responsible, authorities tracked McNeal down using a broken flip phone they discovered while scouring the park for evidence. DNA linked him to the sexual assault.

    At a vigil for Davis following the attack, her fiance’s daughter described her as a “very outgoing person” who “lived for her kids” and “smiled no matter what.”

    “She did not deserve that,” Marcie Bell said at the time.

    Because the attack included the rape and death of the same victim, prosecutors charged McNeal with capital murder — the only crime in Kansas that has execution as a possible sentence.

    District Attorney Marc Bennett said last week that his office is contemplating seeking the death penalty against him.

    McNeal’s arraignment has been on hold for over a year while his mental health and his ability to understand the charges and assist in his defense are being evaluated by doctors at Larned State Security Hospital.

    Originally the hearing was set for Nov. 12, 2015. He had been expected to plead not guilty to the charges then.

    McNeal’s case can progress no further until his competency has been determined, Bennett said.

    McNeal, when interviewed at the outset of the case, had been willing to talk to a Wichita police detective, Tim Relph, according to testimony at a court hearing last year.

    At that time, he denied having any contact with Davis or involvement with the attack but said he had been walking in the area that night to “clear his head.” He was supposed to have been at a local work-release facility but failed to report back there after looking for a job two days earlier.

    Silence


    Bennett and Mark Rudy, Sedgwick County’s chief public defender, were limited in what they could say specifically about McNeal’s case because it is ongoing. Rudy is representing McNeal with assistant public defender Jason Smartt.

    But, speaking generally, both said capital murder cases – especially ones where the death penalty is possible – generally take longer to adjudicate than those filed over other types of crimes.

    In part, that’s because capital-murder defendants receive a “super due process to make sure mistakes aren’t made,” said Rudy, who has litigated death-eligible cases in Ohio and Kansas for about 20 years.

    He characterized the time it’s taking for McNeal’s case to progress through the court system as “average, maybe slightly above average.”

    But, he added, “We do have the mental health issue here.”

    Rudy initially expressed concerns over McNeal’s competency last December, about a month after his preliminary hearing — which is like a mini-trial but instead of a conviction or acquittal, it’s used to determine whether a defendant should be tried on the crimes charged. It was after that hearing that McNeal fell silent.

    He went to the hospital in Larned for his first mental evaluation in April, according to court records. He’s there for his second one now.

    At a hearing in August, Rudy asked District Judge Warren Wilbert to order the second mental evaluation because McNeal was refusing to speak to his attorneys and the court despite his telling a Larned doctor that he would cooperate.

    “We’ve made it an effort at least once a week to go up and see Mr. McNeal. He’s refused to come up for a pro(fessional) visit with us,” Rudy said in court, adding that McNeal had also refused to acknowledge him when sheriff’s deputies allowed him into McNeal’s holding cell that day before court.

    Wilbert, at the hearing, called on McNeal to show some sign acknowledging the day’s proceedings. McNeal did nothing but sit and stare, unmoving, at the table in front of him and at the courtroom floor.

    When the hearing ended, he stood immediately and let deputies escort him out of the courtroom.

    When McNeal was gone, Wilbert said: “Obviously he hears and understands what’s going on.”

    In a recent interview, Rudy said he didn’t know when McNeal’s second evaluation would be complete and his competency determined by the court.

    ‘Moving forward’


    But some feel lengthy prosecutions – regardless of the reason for them – revictimize the families and friends of those killed.

    For Radke, the Wichita Parents of Murdered Children victim advocate, the decade it took to try the man accused of fatally shooting her only son in Finney County in 1986 “was hell.”

    The wait was “just so frustrating” and filled with “sometimes unnecessary” delays, she said.

    “I mean, you may be sitting in the courtroom and they decide there’s not going to be anything that’s going to happen.”

    In the time that Sherry Nolan has worked for the Cincinnati-based National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children, she said she has sat through court hearings in dozens of homicide cases. Extended waits for a case to progress sometimes means survivors don’t get the chance to see justice served, she said.

    It also halts their abilities to heal.

    “We don’t talk about moving on. We talk about moving forward,” said Nolan, whose daughter and unborn granddaughter were killed in 2001. “For the families, the prolonging of everything is just very hard.”

    The frustration is amplified when a family feels like a defendant is holding up a case on purpose, she added.

    “I’ve been in court with families where the defendant, the closer they get to trial being set, they fire their attorneys because they know it will prolong … finalization (of a case) and their possible convictions.

    “That takes a toll on families.”

    Marathon, not a sprint


    If McNeal ultimately is deemed competent to stand trial, his continued silence — as long as it’s voluntary — doesn’t mean his case won’t progress.

    Bennett said being competent is about a defendant having the capability to understand the criminal charges and assist in his or her defense — not about a choice to do so.

    “If a person wants to come into court and sit and stare at the floor the entire time, they’re free to do that,” Bennett said. “They’re free to communicate or not — it’s up to them,” as long as that decision isn’t a product of a mental illness.

    Although two years to reach the arraignment stage of a criminal case sounds like a long time, Bennett and Rudy said it’s not unusual when competency is in question.

    “Given the type of case this is and the stakes that are at play, all the parties want to be extra careful here and do everything we need to,” Rudy said.
    Bennett agreed.

    “The criminal justice system is here to make sure that we do things right, and they’re going to make sure that — whether it’s (McNeal’s) case or any other — that we’re going to follow the procedures put in place by the court.”

    He added: “These major cases, as we tell families all the time, they are a marathon. They’re not a sprint. And it takes awhile.”

    http://www.kansas.com/news/local/cri...120198038.html


    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Competency ruling in Fairmount Park killing delayed

    By Stan Finger
    The Wichita Eagle

    Saying “death is different,” a Sedgwick County District Court judge on Friday delayed a ruling on whether Cornell McNeal is competent to stand trial in a case that could result in the death penalty.

    McNeal is accused of grabbing Letitia Davis while she was walking through Fairmount Park in north Wichita on the night of Nov. 14, 2014. He has been charged with raping her, beating her, setting her body on fire and then leaving her for dead.

    Davis died eight days later. One of the charges McNeal, 28, faces is attempted capital murder, meaning that if he is convicted the jury could sentence him to death.

    After receiving a second assessment from Larned State Hospital recommending that McNeal is competent to stand trial, Judge Warren Wilbert said Friday that he was prepared to rule McNeal competent and that the case should proceed.

    A second assessment was ordered after McNeal refused to speak with his court-appointed attorneys or acknowledge inquiries from the judge. He continued that behavior Friday in court, saying nothing to his attorneys and not responding to Wilbert.

    “Mr. McNeal, you need to know, I think you do — and again we’re going through the same exercise where he’s just staring straight ahead and acting like he’s not going to participate — you need to know, sir, that the state can seek to put you to death,”

    Wilbert said. “So the consequences of a conviction is not just you go to prison.

    “If the jury determines that you should be put to death, you’ll have a death penalty hanging over your head.”

    The alternative to a death sentence upon a guilty conviction is life in prison without possibility of parole, Wilbert said.

    Mark Rudy, Sedgwick County’s chief public defender, requested more time before a competency ruling is made, saying the defense team had hired its own expert to assess McNeal.

    “We are not accepting the findings of Larned,” Rudy said, adding, “This is capital litigation. I’m not going to be stipulating to much of anything” — meaning little will go unchallenged because the defendant could be sentenced to death.

    The defense’s expert is based in Texas and has not completed his assessment, Rudy said.

    Given the stakes of the case, Wilbert said, he agreed to defer a ruling. A hearing on the status of the case was set for March 14.

    Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said a competency hearing that could be expected to include testimony from both prosecution and defense experts would take place sometime after that.

    http://www.kansas.com/news/local/cri...125058454.html


    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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    Man charged in deadly Fairmount Park attack competent to stand trial

    By Amy Renee Leiker
    Wichita Eagle

    The man charged with capital murder in the rape, beating and fire death of a woman walking in a Wichita park almost three years ago has been deemed competent to stand trial, ending a lengthy hold on the case.

    Cornell McNeal’s ability to understand the nature and severity of the charges against him and assist in his defense were first called into question a year and a half ago when he started refusing to speak to his attorneys and sat mute in court. He fell silent not long after a judge in 2015 bound him over for trial on charges connected to the Nov. 14, 2014, random and deadly attack on 36-year-old Letitia Davis, who was found naked and lying in a ring of fire at Fairmount Park, near Wichita State University that night. She died eight days later.

    McNeal, in a police interview after his arrest, denied involvement. Court records show DNA linked him to the attack.

    After reviewing findings from two evaluations McNeal received at Larned State Security Hospital and hearing testimony from a doctor there who recommended McNeal be found competent, Sedgwick County District Judge Warren Wilbert on Friday decided the 29-year-old is able to go forward with the case. McNeal’s silence is a “selective choice” not to participate, he said, rather than the product of a mental defect. He has been speaking to other inmates and to jail staff.

    McNeal’s arraignment is set for June 23. He is expected to plead not guilty to the charges. A jury trial should be scheduled sometime after that.

    If convicted of capital murder, McNeal could face the death penalty.

    http://www.kansas.com/news/local/cri...156985579.html
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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