Stagner attorney: Mental condition at issue

Heather McGregor

Public defender Greg Greer said Tuesday that
the murder case against Steven Michael Stagner
"clearly revolves around the mental condition
of Mr. Stagner."

Stagner, 42, is accused in the July 3 shootings of
seven Latinos in Rifle, which killed four and
injured three.

Court records show that Stagner has a 20-year

history of mental illness that first emerged
when he was stationed in Germany with the
Army.

He was hospitalized more than a dozen times at
Veterans Administration facilities in Grand
Junction and South Dakota, and has been
diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Although he has roots in Craig, Rifle and Grand
Junction, Stagner was jobless and living in his
truck at the time of the shootings.

Greer has not yet said whether he will make an
insanity plea on behalf of his client.

But if he could convince a jury that Stagner is
not guilty by reason of insanity, Stagner would
not go free.

"You don?t ?get off? on insanity," Greer said.
"Insanity is an affirmative defense. But unlike
other affirmative defenses, you don?t get off.

"If a jury finds a person not guilty by reason of
insanity, they are sent to the state hospital,
where they can remain for the rest of their life,"
he said.

The Colorado Mental Health Institutes at
Pueblo has a forensic unit where convicted
criminals with mental illness are lodged.

"These are people who wouldn?t function in a
general prison population," Greer said.

"Where does he go? That?s the crux of it. Do you
send a mentally ill man to prison or to the state
hospital?" he asked.

"This case could be used as an examination of
what we do with mentally ill people generally,"
he said.

It?s unlikely that Greer will enter any type of
plea before a preliminary hearing. That?s
usually a one-day hearing that allows
prosecutors to summarize the evidence in the
case.

A preliminary hearing isn?t expected before
October because of the long list of witnesses
who must be interviewed.

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