John C. Salvi III is virtually oblivious to the proceedings in his own trial on charges that he killed two abortion clinic workers, one of Salvi's lawyers said Tuesday.
"He might as well be sitting in a foreign courtroom with a foreign language being spoken," said J.W. Carney.But Superior Court Judge Barbara Dortch-Okara refused for the third time to find Salvi mentally incompetent to continue standing trial, saying she had seen nothing new in his behavior.
Defense attorneys also disclosed that Salvi, while in jail, has written letters to the pope and sent statements about anti-Roman-Catholic persecution to one of the survivors of his Dec. 30, 1994, attacks on two abortion clinics.
On Monday, a psychiatrist testified for the defense that Salvi tried to appear sane after his shootings at two abortion clinics, not wanting questions about his mental health to detract from his message.
Salvi was guarded in jailhouse interviews and tried to censor his own thoughts to prevent "bizarre, delusional ideas" from coming out, Dr. David Bear testified as the defense wrapped up its case.
The 24-year-old defendant protested his lawyers' pursuit of an insanity defense until told that it would be the only way his beliefs about a conspiracy against Roman Catholics would be aired, Bear said.
"He does not perceive himself as mentally ill," Dr. David Bear testified. That perception strengthens Bear's belief that Salvi is mentally ill, the doctor told jurors.