Judge ponders moves
A judge in Mason City, Iowa, postponed the trial of a man accused of killing a popular high school football coach while he deliberates conflicting recommendations about the defendant’s mental fitness.
Mark D. Becker, 24, was scheduled to stand trial Sept. 15 on first-degree murder charges in the killing of his former coach, Ed Thomas. But Judge Stephen P. Carroll put the case on hold while he rules whether Becker is mentally fit to stand trial. Carroll didn’t indicate when he might issue his ruling, but Iowa assistant attorney general Scott Brown said he expects a ruling in two to three weeks.
Experts called by prosecutors and the defense agreed that Becker suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, but they disagreed about whether Becker is fit to be tried.
From News and wire service reports.
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