Court Case
On October 28, 2004, Dotson was declared incompetent to stand trial by District Judge George Allen and was sent to a state mental hospital to be reevaluated in four months' time. Three psychiatrists, including one appointed by the court, said that Dotson appeared to be suffering from hallucinations and psychosis, but that he could regain competency to stand trial in the future. Among other issues, Dotson believed people were trying to kill him because he was Jesus. It is believed that his ex wife also noticed he was hearing voices. In February 2005, Dotson was returned to jail after psychologists deemed him competent to stand trial but that he must continue taking his anti-psychotic medication. The psychologist also said that Dotson's accounts of hallucinations and hearing voices were "suspect."
On June 8, 2005, five days before his trial for murder was to begin, Dotson unexpectedly pleaded guilty to killing Patrick Dennehy. On June 15, Dotson was sentenced to 35 years in prison and will be eligible for parole after he has served about half of his sentence in 2021. A judge ruled in January 2006 that Dotson had forfeited his right to appeal when he pled guilty after Dotson wrote a letter in December 2005 seeking permission to appeal his case.
Read more about this topic: Patrick Dennehy
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