Attorney says man charged in machete slaying will plead insanity
Published Monday, May 26, 2008
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Stumble It!PALMER -- The attorney for a Palmer man accused of using a machete to kill his father and a gun to shoot another man will raise an insanity defense.
Public defender Matt Phillips appeared in court Friday on behalf of Christopher Erin Rogers Jr. in a pair of misdemeanor cases.
Phillips told Palmer District Court Judge John Wolfe that Rogers intended to plead insanity in the murder cases.
He requested to delay the misdemeanor cases - a petition to revoke his probation on a 2006 harassment case and a 2007 drunken driving case - until after the murder cases were resolved.
Rogers is accused of murdering Christopher Erin Rogers Sr. on Dec. 2 and seriously wounding his father's fiancée, Elann Moren, at their home south of Palmer.
Prosecutors said Rogers then traveled to Anchorage, where he shot and killed Jason Wenger, 27, and wounded two others.
Cases against him have been opened in Anchorage, where he faces 10 felony counts, including murder, and Palmer, where he faces eight counts, also including murder.
Community Discussion
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Uh oh...
To NM staff - I thought comments weren't being allowed on crime stories? Also, I have only posted on this story so I could alert myself since I wasn't sure how to send an alert any other way, so if you could remove both my comments that would be great. Thanks :)
Well why not? The spate of recent articles seem to indicate it's more than effective in avoiding a jail term.
I guess it was only a matter of time before they figured out a way to get away with murder. Claim insanity and ye shall be set free. What a crock. Murder is murder, I don't care how insane that person claimed to be.
I don't think he "gets off" when claiming insanity in Alaska. I believe he goes into secure inpatient treatment until he is able to serve his time in jail. Don't expect him to just walk out into the street and be free, it won't happen that way.
Hey....I don't want to hurt anyone..maybe a small crime. One that will get me three hot's and a cot.......I almost forgot, I need two knee replacements too.
Aidey, the policy's a bit in flux right now (since commenting is relatively new). You'd have to contact Julie Stricker for more information, but I know that comments for the police blotter are automatically disabled and stories are done on a case-by-case basis ... or so I've been told. The actual guidelines may differ.
Insanity is already working in one case and he isn't going to jail when he gets released but to a supervised living situation. What a shame that a human life is worth so little to some of our judges.
akwebsurfer, they are currently facing just that with a patient in Anchorage who believes he is cured.
We disable comments on the police blotter, but we do allow them on most other crime stories, unless they involve minors or sex. As long as readers stay on topic, that will be our policy.
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