Published: May 07, 2007 11:20 am      

LeGrande competency debated

Sunday, May 6, 2007 — Convicted murderer Guy Tobias LeGrande returned to court shortly before 9:30 a.m. Friday in Stanly County to begin the next, and possibly last, leg of his journey toward legal recognition of his competence – or lack thereof.

Following his last court appearance in November LeGrande was sent by Judge Robert Bell to Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh for a psychiatric evaluation of no more than 60 days to return after which for a competency hearing.

That decision came just days before LeGrande’s slated execution date.

Since his arrest more than a decade ago for the shotgun slaying of 26-year-old Ellen Munford, LeGrande has maintained he’s innocent of the crime.

In the years following his arrest and subsequent conviction for the homicide, questions have lingered regarding whether or not LeGrande was fit to represent himself, and more recently, whether or not he is fit for execution.

In what figures to possibly be among the final steps in identifying LeGrande’s mental fitness and competence, law enforcement and court officials along with attorneys and other expert witnesses gathered for the hearing.

With Albemarle police officers blocking Second Street, they and Stanly County Sheriff’s deputies directing lingering motorists away, two state prisoner transport cruisers arrived at the courthouse, LeGrande caged in the back of one of them.

The small convoy entered a veritable net of deputies before the prisoner was helped to his feet wearing shackles and chains and was immediately escorted to the courthouse by deputies and three state agents.

Those agents never left his side and deputies stationed themselves at appointed posts in the courthouse and courtroom.

The behavior and character of the defendant were initially reviewed and explored through witnesses’ experiences with him.

After attorneys and other professionals who worked on his behalf in the past delivered sworn testimony recounting their interactions with LeGrande, Bell addressed him directly.

Often smiling, but at times using profanity, LeGrande’s responses in the hearing leaned occasionally in the direction of competence and lucid high intelligence, while in other instances it was confusing and difficult to follow.

Brief coherent recitals of state statutes and legal jargon were shaded with seemingly irrelevant tangents that seldom approached actual answers to questions he fielded from Bell.

A bizarre tension solidified in the courtroom more than once as the silence from the gallery and court officials was broken up by lengthy and circular discourses from LeGrande.

Although he is facing capital punishment, LeGrande spent the majority of his time in the courtroom with a relaxed appearance, partially reclined in an office-style chair, swiveling slightly as the events of his hearing unfolded.

LeGrande seemed to be detached from the proceedings, he often made declarations that he was simply a “conscientious observer.”

His rebuke of suggestions of being beyond eccentric prompted a question from Bell at one point during the hearing. Bell asked LeGrande if he actually wanted to be executed.

One question that pulled a concise response from LeGrande dealt with the nature of the events of the day.

“Why are we here today?” Bell asked him, to which LeGrande replied, “You’re trying to see whether or not I’m competent.”

After statements mocking testimony that he seemed to operate in a “parallel universe,” LeGrande outlined a simple description of his perceived future.

“There’s only two ways it can go,” he said. “Either I’ll be executed or I’ll go free.”

During his initial trial he addressed the jury wearing a Superman T-shirt, he mixed foul language with discombobulated rants, and he’s petitioned government officials from prison using grandiose self references.

But when questioned about his own sense of competence, LeGrande insisted he’s aware of his situation and the world around him.

However, in one letter he wrote, he opened with, “From the Constitutional and Civil Rights Office of the Director for the National Coalition of Black Secret Agents Enslaved at Central Prison,” and went on to state his plights – both perceived and actual.

He scoffed at references to comments he’d been attributed with uttering such as descriptions of anvils falling from the sky and sought to lend them credibility.

“When I make these little conundrums; these riddles, I’m alluding to another situation,” he said.

While his intentions can be interpreted various ways, LeGrande claimed the obscure phrases and scribbling he’s accountable for are his way of communicating.

Late in the hearing, which wrapped up around 3:40 p.m., LeGrande responded to a question about the administrative exchange of power from former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt to current Gov. Mike Easley.

It was predicated on something LeGrande was quoted as having said in reference to the exchange, which involved the passing of a cup.

When asked to explain his comments that the exchange was symbolic of his own experiences he talked about a N.C. Department of Correction employee who told him it was “tea time at the jail.”

Afterwards he suggested the man must have a propensity for Extra-Sensory Perception (ESP).

When Bell questioned the relevance of the anecdote, LeGrande quoted him as having asked, “Mr. Crow, you asked for a cup of water didn’t you?”

The attorney defending LeGrande, whom LeGrande does not acknowledge as his legal council, Jay Ferguson, will present expert witnesses when the hearing reconvenes in about a month.

That portion of the hearing may include further examination of a letter Ferguson entered into evidence Friday.

The letter, composed to several attorneys by James H. Hilkey, PhD, Psychologist, suggests competency determination is a more complex issue than most realize and a lack of proper examination can result in errors.

He goes on to say, “Mr. LeGrande may be suffering from a significant mental disorder.”