Wednesday, September 7, 1977
daily nebraskan
page 5
ecrecy of Berkowifz sanity report is challenged
By Jimmy Breslin
. New YorK Daily Nows columnist
New. York-A letter from David
Berkowitz sits on my desk. Berkowitz,
, also known as Son of Sam, was sent by the
courts to Kings County Hospital Center in
' Brooklyn for mental .... observation.
Berkowitz was arrested Aug. 10 for killing
six people and wounding seven with a .44
Bulldog revolver..
Last Tuesday, Dr. Daniel Schwartz,
chief psychiatrist at Kings County, report
ed to the court that Berkowitz is mentally
incompetent to stand trial. .
; The letter from Berkowitz, postmarked
Aug.,25, reads: "Dear Mr. Breslin,
"It has come to my attention that you
wish to speak to me. Well, all you have to
do is come over to my home at Kings
; County Hospital. At this time I am unable
to visit you.
"I am quite disgusted with the way the
press has been spreading lies about nle, but
perhaps some of these can be ironed out in
our meeting. However, I am not one to cry
out a case of injustice,
. I hope . Mayor Beame enjoys dribbling
my head across the court. This is like a .
circus, event with clown?, and criminals.
Please bring a beer when you cme.
"Sincerely, David Berkowitz,";
Return letter .
Berkowitz wrote for a simple reason:
1 wrote him a letter and he answered it. In
my letter, I said that in, his letter to me las .
June he promised he someday would intro
. duce me to the person he calls Sam, I
reminded him, of the promise and said I
wanted to come oyer and see him and meet
Sam. Berkowitz renewed this invitation;
which, at an appropriate time, will be.
accepted.
There is concern about the doctor's
decision that . Berkowitz is incompetent.
The : families of victims believe ' that
Berkowitz,, who they believe killed their
relatives, will pay no heavier penalty than
to stroll about the lawns of a hospital
until a lawyer comes up with a way to get
him out. :
Much of this concern is from
misconceptions because the courts, in their
inability to trust . and communicate with
the public, have decided to keep the psy-
chiatrist's report on Berkowitz secret.
. The letter appears to be written by a
sound person, on? who can remember to
put a comma after the' words "however"
and "well," and who has the ability to
attempt some grisly humor in his writing:
"I hope Mayor Beame enjoys dribbling
my head across the court. This is. like a
circus event with . clowns and criminals.
Please bring a beer with you when you
. come." .
Ruling questioned f.
Lacking information, the families of
victims, and most people in New York,
have questioned the incompetency opinion
for reasons, that, under the circumstances,
appear sensible.
The night Berkowitz was arrested, he
sat in the chief of detectives office and
was questioned at length by police and
district attorneys.
One : detective who questioned
Berkowitz walked out and said, "This guy
couldn't stand a trial. He's a lump. You
can't even gel; mad at him I can't even
get mad at him. He's just nothing." .
There is a need for the complete trans
cript of Dr. Schwartz findings to be made
public. Dr. Schwartz was allowed orijy to
state that Berkowitz was "incapacitated. , .
as i, esult of mental disease or defect"
and that he "lacks capacity to understand
the proceedings against him or to assist in
his own defense."
. Report hidden
The . report,, which could end so much
anxiety, is hidden because, while there is a
court debate Over Berkowitz' competence, .
there appears to be none over the public's.
The courts feel the public is not capable of
reading the reasons.
. If Berkowitz is ruled incompetent,
he will be sent to a mental institution.
Sometime, if . doctors decide he is
competent to stand trial, Berkowitz will
be sent, back to Brooklyn for a murder
trial.
Berkowitz, if found guilty, could be
sentenced to 25 years to life. Or Berkowitz
could be found insane and could be sent
back' to a mental, institution. .The years
probably will add up to much of a lifetime
before any attempt to get Berkowitz out
could be made. s
Outearlier?
However, if the court decides Oct. 6
that Berkowitz should stand trial, the guy
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-- : .- .... . ,
could be out on the street years earlier
than if the ruling of incompetency is allow
ed to stand.
There is the possibility that once inside
a mental institution, Berkowitz never will
be released. But for those, who lived
through Son of Sam, there is a profound
need for something stronger than
possibility: the people want to know the
guy won't be back.
The letter on my desk, written in script
this time, and signed by David Berkowitz
and not Son of Sam, stands as a challenge
to official ignorance: .
You tell us that this man is crazy. You
tell us that this man cannot be tried in a
courtroom. Then prove it to us.
Copyright 1977, by Jimmy Breslin.
Distributed by the Chicago Tribune
New York News Syndicate, Inc.
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