PHILLIP GARRIDO HELD COMPETENT TO STAND TRIAL FOR THE KIDNAPPING AND RAPE OF JAYCEE DUGARD

Phillip Garrido was found competent to stand trial by a Placerville, California judge. While the psychiatrists appointed to examine Garrido found him mentally ill they did not find him incompetent to stand trial. Under California law one is incompetent to stand trial if “as a result of mental disorder or developmental disability, the defendant is unable to understand the nature of the criminal proceedings or to assist counsel in the conduct of a defense in a rational manner.” It is a hard standard to meet and the psychiatrists felt that Garrido was not incompetent.

Garrido and his wife, Nancy are charged with eighteen counts including kidnapping, kidnapping for sexual purposes, forcible rape, and forcible lewd acts upon a child in connection with the 1991 abduction of Jaycee Dugard from the street in front of her South Lake Tahoe residence where the eleven year old was waiting for a school bus.

According to the Contra Costa Times now that Garrido has been found competent to stand trial serious plea negotiations may take place. They are facing life in prison. Phillip may take life in prison or a lengthy sentence and in exchange his wife may get a lesser sentence. This would prevent Dugard and her two daughters who are assumed to be the results of Garrido’s raping Dugard from having to testify.

Testifying would be particularly difficult since they suffer from the Stockholm syndrome. The Stockholm Syndrome occurs when victims of kidnapping are kept isolated and away from their friends and family for long periods of time. Eventually the feelings of anger and hatred are replaced by kind feelings for their captors. Jaycee Godard once wrote that she would never want to hurt Phillip Goddard. But the feelings appear to be mutual. According to the Garrido’s attorneys they also want to prevent Jaycee and the children from having to testify. Godard spent eighteen years in captivity after her kidnapping. At least part of that time was spent in a shack in Godard’s back yard in Antiock, California.

But talk of a plea bargain may be a cover up for the Garrido’s relatively weak case. Even if their lawyers can convince the jury that the prolonged detention was voluntary, despite the Stockholm Syndrome they will have trouble explaining the initial kidnapping and the rape of Dugard when she was still a young kid.