Thursday, August 26, 2004 12:01 PM CDT
Wright's confession tape played in resentencing for 1983 murder
By DAVE FOPAY, Staff Writer
CHARLESTON -- The words of 21 years ago sounded through the courtroom Wednesday, as Patrick Wright told what happened on a June night when he first saw Carol Specht lying on her couch.
"I said, ‘(expletive) it, if she gives me any trouble, I'll do away with her,'" was how he described his break-in of Specht's Mattoon apartment, which ultimately led to her murder.
Wright's obscenity-laden taped confession to police was the highlight of the prosecution's presentation Wednesday at a hearing that will eventually lead to a new sentence for the 61-year-old convicted killer
Meanwhile, Wright's attorneys will apparently try to convince Circuit Judge Dale Cini to give Wright a chance to go to a state mental facility after he finishes serving his prison time. The hearing to re-sentence Wright is expected to end today, when Cini will impose a life sentence or a fixed term of at least 20 years.
The new sentencing is required because, on appeal, a federal court said then-Circuit Judge Paul Komada shouldn't have said he didn't consider Wright's "troubled childhood" when he imposed the death penalty in September 1983.
Also, former Gov. George Ryan's death sentence commutations in early 2003 -- which he extended to all Illinois inmates on death row -- meant Wright can't receive the death penalty again.
Wright was found guilty of breaking into Specht's apartment and stabbing her to death, plus slashing the throat of her daughter Connie and trying to sexually assault both women.
Wright showed no reaction Wednesday as his taped confession was played, though most of more than two dozen of Specht's family and friends who were in attendance lowered their heads, some fighting tears.
On the tape, Wright calmly described in detail how he planned to burglarize Specht's apartment on South Sixth Street in Mattoon, then threatened and tied up Specht when she awoke and saw him. He said he eventually made her lie on her bed and told her, "‘If you move you're dead.' I kept flashing my knife at her so she knew I meant business."
Searching for things to steal, Wright said he found Connie Specht in another bedroom and forced her into the same room with her mother. He said he then slashed her throat before he "turned around and started stabbing her mother."
"The only reason I could come up with was so there wouldn't be any witnesses," Wright said in response to a question of why he wanted to kill the two women.
Wright appeared in court Monday with several cut marks on his head, apparently mistakes made during a recent attempt to shave it. The long shaggy beard he wore during other recent court appearances had been trimmed.
Assistant Illinois Attorney General John O'Connell told Cini that the prosecution wouldn't call any witnesses and instead would rely on letters from Connie Specht and others, plus records of Wright's trial and sentencing, his time in prison and his lengthy history with mental institutions. O'Connell, Assistant Attorney General Lea Norbut and State's Attorney Steve Ferguson are the case's prosecution team.
Meanwhile, forensic psychologist Lawrence Raifman will likely be the only witness called by Wright's court-appointed attorneys, Eric Palles and Gary Ravitz. Raifman, who interviewed Wright earlier this month and reviewed his records, will finish his testimony today.
Though he practices in Maryland, Raifman testified Wednesday that he's reviewed Illinois law and thinks Wright is eligible for involuntary commitment in a Illinois Department of Human Services maximum security treatment facility if he's paroled from prison.
Wright spent nearly 50 years in various institutions and his diagnosis indicates that he has attention deficit disorder and other problems, Raifman said.
"It's his way or no way," Raifman said. "There is a tendency to put himself in the center of the universe and do what it takes to get what he needs."
Wright has made recent attempts to reconcile himself with poor treatment from his adoptive parents, he added, but still has a mental illness and could pose a danger. There's treatment available at the state's prison in Dixon, but prisoners with life sentences aren't eligible, Raifman added.
Sending Wright to a state facility after prison apparently wouldn't be automatic. Raifman said the Illinois Department of Corrections would have to evaluate him for commitment to the facility and if the department didn't take that action, anyone could petition to have Wright evaluated.
Raifman said he based his conclusions on Illinois law's stated mission of trying to rehabilitate and not just punish an offender. Wright's condition and history of institutionalization means he couldn't function outside of a secure facility, Raifman said.
Contact Dave Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 348-5733.
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