Shooting Suspect May Not be Arraigned at Hearing

The suspect in the Marshall County shooting is expected to be in court Friday, but he may not be arraigned after all.

The arraignment was tentatively set for 1:00 pm in Benton, but Commonwealth Attorney Mark Blankenship told West Kentucky Star Thursday afternoon that the 15-year-old suspect has a new public defender. Blankenship says he was notified that the defense wants to formally challenge mental competency. 

Based on his experience with the presiding judge, Blankenship said he expects the arraignment to be postponed at Friday's hearing.

"Once it's an issue, this judge wants to knock that out and be done with it. If they file notice before arraignment, it typically means we won't arraign until we have a(n) expert opinion that he is mentally competent," Blankenship said.

If the judge allows it, a mental competency challenge would involve a psychological expert analyzing the suspect to issue an opinion on whether he is capable of understanding the charges against him and providing aid to his own defense. If the prosecution disagrees with the defense expert, they would likely provide an expert with a rebuttal opinion. The judge would then rule on his competency to stand trial. 

The competency issue could also determine whether the suspect's name is released to the public. If he is arraigned as an adult, his name would be known to everyone.

However, Blankenship said, "If he is truly incompetent - that he doesn't know the difference between right and wrong - then the Commonwealth would not be allowed to prosecute. We would be barred, and then he would be back in juvenile court where all of that would remain confidential."

The teen allegedly opened fire in the commons area of his high school on January 23, killing 15-year-olds Bailey Nicole Holt and Preston Ryan Cope, and injuring 18 others.