A federal magistrate may avoid ordering the forced medication of a man accused of threatening to kill leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by simply instructing him to begin taking his prescribed medicine.
The court order, requested by federal prosecutors, would direct Jay Richard Morrison to take the medication but would not give doctors the right to administer it against his will.
Morrison, 58, is charged with one count of threatening interstate communications for allegedly posting a series of threats against LDS leaders on the Internet. In one post, Morrison is alleged to have threatened to behead LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Court-appointed defense attorney Ben Hamilton said Friday that the order would equate to forcing Morrison to take the medicine against his will and asked for time to examine the issue. A Feb. 9 hearing was scheduled for arguments on the motion.
Morrison has been found incompetent to stand trial on one charge of threatening interstate communications. Doctors at a Los Angeles federal medical facility determined Morrison was able to understand the charges against him but that his delusions prevented him from adequately assisting in his own defense.
Morrison is now being held at a similar Springfield, Mo., facility. Nuffer on Friday ordered he stay there for another four months for additional evaluation.