SALEM, Ore. (AP) — A doctor hired by lawyers for a death row inmate who wants to waive his appeals says the inmate suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome and attention deficit disorder.
Court documents indicate Dr. Muriel Lezak says that 49-year-old inmate Gary Haugen’s thought processes are “slow and sluggish.”
Attorneys Andy Simrin and Keith Goody say in a document filed Thursday that the doctor’s analysis “raises serious doubts” about Haugen’s competency to waive his remaining appeals and proceed with a lethal injection. The lawyers also say they didn’t have access to Haugen’s trial records until very recently and haven’t had time to adequately determine their client’s likelihood of succeeding with an appeal.
The attorneys are asking a Marion County Circuit Court judge to allow more examination of Haugen.
