Padilla too impaired to get fair trial-lawyer
Source: Reuters
By Jane Sutton MIAMI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Former "enemy combatant" Jose Padilla cannot get a fair trial on terrorism charges because years of secret interrogation damaged his brain, his lawyer told a U.S. judge on Wednesday, while prosecutors insisted that was untrue. The 36-year-old American is mentally competent but refuses to cooperate with his court-appointed lawyers because he is an al Qaeda operative, a prosecutor countered. Both sides summed up their arguments at the end of a four-day hearing into Padilla's mental competency. U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke did not indicate how quickly she would rule but has scheduled an April trial on charges that could imprison Padilla for life. Both sides agree the former Chicago gang member and ex-con understands the charges, which accuse him of aiding Islamist extremists and conspiring with them to murder, kidnap and maim people overseas. Padilla sits quietly in court and the judge described him as "almost polite to a fault." But he has not provided even a scrap of information his defense lawyers can use to prepare for trial, defense attorney Anthony Natale said. Padilla was so traumatized by years of isolation and interrogation at a military brig, where he was held by presidential order for 3 1/2 years before being charged in the civilian court, that he twitches and freezes up when questioned by his lawyers, Natale said. Nonetheless, Padilla insists he has already told all, Natale said. "Because of that he is not going to be able to get a fair trial and we are not going to be able to competently represent him," Natale said. Padilla fears being labeled "crazy" and adamantly denies anything is wrong, Natale said, adding: "That is totally and completely irrational." DOCTORS DISAGREE Two doctors who examined Padilla for the defense found him mentally incompetent, while a Bureau of Prisons doctor deemed him fit for trial. Natale said the prison doctor's conclusion was based on information carefully selected by the government, which has fought strenuously to keep secret the details of Padilla's detention in the brig. The judge noted that Padilla himself refused to cooperate with the prison doctor. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Shipley said that refusal proves Padilla is competent to make decisions about how to proceed. "It's a volitional decision, it is a choice," Shipley said. He said Padilla refuses to discuss his past with his lawyers because al Qaeda operatives are trained to conceal information and make false claims of mistreatment. Padilla would have little to gain by feigning mental illness. If he is found unfit for trial, he would be sent to a prison medical center for treatment aimed at restoring mental competency so that he could be tried. He has been in federal custody since May 2002, when he was arrested in Chicago upon his return from Egypt and Pakistan. President George W. Bush ordered him held in military custody and his administration accused Padilla of plotting to set off a radioactive bomb. Padilla was never charged with that and while a challenge to Bush's authority to hold him without charge was pending in the Supreme Court, Padilla was indicted in Florida and transferred to civilian custody last year.
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