Corrected - Psychologist: Murder defendant competent to stand trial
BLOGGER COMMENTS: Readers of the Blog know this story well. We know that this murder need not have happened, except for the local justice system, and especially a certain local judge who is running UNOPPOSED for reelection this fall, that refused to grant a restraining order to keep him away from Kay Letson Stevens. You remember the rest of the story where our brave and resourceful, sheriff, armed with only a bottle of whiskey, defied the law enforcement officials who had ACTUAL JURISDICTION of the situation, served shots to this known alcoholic, and enticed him to join her in an unaccompanied ride to the jail with a pit stop at his 'daddy's). How sweet. How unprofessional.
Roger Dale Stevens, charged with capital murder in the 2015 shooting and beating death of his ex-wife, is "more at peace now than (I) ever was," he said in a recent psychological evaluation that concluded he is competent to stand trial
Stevens, now 68, is charged with capital murder in the shooting and beating death of Kay Letson Stevens on Nov. 14, 2015, two days after their divorce was finalized. He allegedly chased her into the Corner Bakery and Eatery, which she co-owned, shot her, and beat her head against a concrete curb.
The report from the court-ordered mental evaluation, conducted by forensic psychologist Steve Rubenzer, was filed in the Morgan County Circuit Court this week.
Rubenzer reported that he inquired as to Stevens' mood during the evaluation.
"Fine," Stevens responded, according to the report. "I've come to terms with my fate — things don't agitate me like they used to."
Rubenzer wrote that Stevens reported no thoughts of suicide, although he noted that two days after the shooting, he "told staff he would be better off dead."
Up until his arrest, Stevens told the psychologist, he had no periods of sobriety "since very young" and he drank a half pint to a pint of whiskey daily, despite requests by his wife and daughter that he cut down on his consumption. He said he was working 16 hours per day as a truck driver before his arrest.
He identified the worst thing that ever happened to him in his life as his current situation
MORE BLOGGER COMMENTS: That's the worse thing that ever happened to you in your life? Just wait until you are a guest to one of the most overcrowded, gang-run, and violent prison systems in America. And give a thought to the worst thing that happened to Kay Letson Stevens was the day you killed her