5 kids, woman found slain inside Florida Apt. 9/19/09(husband arrested)

[Sister]

Killing one's family is enough to make you insane, if you weren't already.  His every wish should be the command IMO.

I stand by this statement.

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.marconews.com/news/2010/nov/19/mesac-damas-court-status-hearing/

Mesac Damas enters the courtroom during a status hearing for Damas at the Collier County Courthouse in Naples on Nov. 19, 2010. Greg Kahn/Staff
VIDEO/PHOTOS: Mesac Damas in court for status hearing
Damas set to undergo second competency evaluation

    * By STEVEN BEARDSLEY
    * marconews.com
    * Posted November 19, 2010 at 10:24 a.m., updated November 19, 2010 at 6:27 p.m.
NAPLES — Questions of competency are slowing progress in the death penalty case of Mesac Damas, his attorneys told a judge on Friday.

The issue of whether the accused killer can participate in his own trial threatens to further extend the year-old case, as the court readies for a likely competency hearing. Witness depositions have yet to begin, and Damas attorney Kathleen Fitzgeorge said they won't until her client begins talking to her.
We're not comfortable with proceeding with depositions at this stage until Mr. Damas is (able to participate)," Fitzgeorge said.

Damas remained silent through the 45-minute status hearing, and he appeared attentive. Shackled and clad in an orange jumpsuit, he sat beside his attorneys and faced Collier Circuit Judge Franklin Baker.

His health, both physical and mental, has appeared questionable at times. Damas has lost considerable weight in a year of incarceration, and in previous hearings he has muttered to himself and rocked back and forth in his seat.
Deputies strapped him into a restraining chair for an August status hearing, after he refused to dress in orange coveralls for the appearance. The suspect sang as he was wheeled into the courtroom, and he yelled directly at Baker.

Friday, Baker told parties he was troubled by the delay.

"We need to make some progress," he said on Friday. "And if we sit here and say competency is an issue--I know it's an issue. Let's get beyond that."

Both sides agreed to a second competency evaluation, a required step before the court can consider Damas' competency. Florida criminal procedure requires a minimum of two evaluations before a hearing, and a third remains optional.
The results of the first evaluation, conducted by Fort Myers psychologist Robert Silver, have been released to both parties and Baker. Fitzgeorge declined to talk about Silver's findings.

Assistant State Attorney Richard Montecalvo asked that the second evaluation be sought. Michael Herkov, a psychologist from Gainesville, will examine Damas.

A defendant's competency to undergo trial is a legal determination based on how well that person can understand and participate in the case. Defendants deemed incompetent are often sent to a state facility for their competency to be "restored." In some cases, suspects cycle between findings of competence and incompetence.

Baker, eager to move forward with the case, urged Fitzgeorge to conduct depositions of certain witnesses without her client's participation. Fitzgeorge said Damas had a right to be present and communicative for all depositions.

"It is virtually impossible to proceed without his participation," she told reporters outside the courtroom.
Fitzgeorge, a deputy public defender, assumed the case this summer after Damas' previous attorney, Michael Orlando, left the defender's office. She is assisted by defenders Neil McLoughlin and Connie Kelley. Montecalvo and assistant state attorney Dave Scuderi were present for the prosecution on Friday. State Attorney Stephen Russell is leading the prosecution.

Damas, 34, is charged with six counts of first-degree murder in the slayings of his wife and five children. The bodies were found inside the family's North Naples home in September 2009, their throats cut.

The victims were Guerline Damas, 32; Meshach "Zack" Damas, 9; Maven, 6; Marven, 5; Megan, 3; and Morgan, 19 months.

If convicted, Damas faces the death penalty.

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.news-press.com/article/20110118/CRIME/110118042/1075/Damas-again-requests-to-represent-himself-in-family-killing-case
Damas again requests to represent himself in family killing case
By Denes Husty III • dhusty@news-press.com • January 18, 2011
Accused family killer Mesac Damas again requested to represent himself during a short hearing today in Collier County.

Damas, 34, of North Naples, is charged with six counts of first-degree murder of his wife, Guerline Dieu Damas, 32, and their five young children inside their townhouse in September 2009. Damas faces the death penalty if convicted.

A status hearing was held today regarding the appointment of a psychologist to perform a mental evaluation of
Damas, said Samantha Syoen, spokeswoman for the state attorney’s office.

This is the third evaluation ordered for Damas.

Nothing was decided at the hearing, including Damas’ renewed request to represent himself. He made a similar request at a Jan. 7 hearing.

Baker reserved ruling on the request.

The next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 4.

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.marconews.com/news/2011/jan/18/accused-killer-mesac-damas-death-penalty-himself/
VIDEO/PHOTOS: Accused killer Mesac Damas again seeks permission to represent himself

    * By STEVEN BEARDSLEY
    * marconews.com
    * Posted January 18, 2011 at 9:38 a.m., updated January 18, 2011 at 3:22 p.m.

NAPLES — Accused killer Mesac Damas repeated his request to represent himself in his death penalty case, this time during a brief hearing on Tuesday.

The hearing, set last week by Collier Circuit Judge Franklin Baker, concerned the appointment of a third psychiatrist to evaluate Damas and the protocol for coordinating with the expert before the examination.

Baker, pushing for more progress in the case, intended to send the results of Damas’ two prior examinations directly to the third doctor, Dr. Frederick Schaerf, when he received an e-mail from Damas’ attorneys opposing the move.
Deputy Public Defender Kathleen Fitzgeorge told Baker that she would prefer such decisions be made by the attorneys.

“At this stage I think it would be on behalf of the state and defense to provide Dr. Schaerf with whatever necessary documents he would need in regards to discovery, any documents that he requested,” Fitzgeorge said.

Baker agreed to allow both sides to determine what materials to send to Schaerf, so long as they made a decision on Tuesday.
The judge told Damas he was aware of the defendant’s standing request to represent himself, but that he could make no decision during the hearing. In a rambling response that often invoked religion, Damas repeatedly said he’d like to represent himself.

“No disrespect, you know what I’m saying, but I’d appreciate it if next time the judge would address that,” he told Baker.

Damas, 34, faces the death penalty on six counts of first-degree murder for the slayings of his five children and their mother, Damas’ wife, Guerline Damas, 32, at their North Naples home in September 2009.

The case is moving gradually toward a hearing that would decide Damas’ competence to stand trial. Two previous evaluations have reached separate conclusions about the defendant’s competence, setting the way for a third evaluation, the maximum number permitted by law.
Damas’ mental health has been questioned from the beginning of the case. He has lost considerable weight since his arrest, and he is often disruptive during hearings. His attorneys have said they will not begin witness depositions in the case until Damas participates.

Baker has expressed frustration with the slow pace of the case. Tuesday, the judge said he chose Schaerf in part because the doctor was available the next two weeks, before the next hearing in the case.

“Because we are sort of, as I mentioned before, jumping up and down and landing in the same spot without moving forward,” he said.

The next status hearing is set for Feb. 4.

[trimmonthelake]

<a href="http://media.scrippsnewspapers.com/corp_assets/asphalt/swf/trinity_embed.swf?sid=MARCO&amp;sl=raw-video-mesac-damas-again-asks-represent-himself" target="_blank">http://media.scrippsnewspapers.com/corp_assets/asphalt/swf/trinity_embed.swf?sid=MARCO&amp;sl=raw-video-mesac-damas-again-asks-represent-himself</a>  01/18/11

[trimmonthelake]

Murder defendant Mesac Damas ignores judge, tries to control his death penalty case - VIDEO/PHOTOS

    * By STEVEN BEARDSLEY
    * Naples Daily News
    * Posted February 4, 2011 at 9:30 a.m., updated February 4, 2011 at 7:37 p.m.

<a href="http://media.scrippsnewspapers.com/corp_assets/asphalt/swf/trinity_embed.swf?sid=NPDN&amp;sl=raw-video-damas-continues-outbursts" target="_blank">http://media.scrippsnewspapers.com/corp_assets/asphalt/swf/trinity_embed.swf?sid=NPDN&amp;sl=raw-video-damas-continues-outbursts</a>
NAPLES — A judgment on murder defendant Mesac Damas’ competence to stand trial was delayed again on Friday, as attorneys and the judge awaited the third, and final, psychiatric report in the death-penalty case.

Damas, meanwhile, ignored the protests of the judge as he spoke loudly to the TV cameras and courtroom audience, the latest in a pattern of outbursts for the defendant and another sign he intends to control his case.

“Don’t cry for me, guys,” he told the courtroom, which included his brother and parents. “Cry for yourself.”

More here...   http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/feb/04/murder-defendant-mesac-damas-ignores-judge-tries-c/

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jun/23/mesac-damas-competent-naples/
Judge rules Mesac Damas competent to proceed in death penalty case
    By Naples Daily News staff report
    Posted June 23, 2011 at 4:34 p.m., updated June 23, 2011 at 6:50 p.m.

Mesac Damas is competent to proceed in his death penalty case, a Collier Circuit judge ruled on Thursday.

The decision means Damas’ case will not immediately be delayed by treatment. Damas faces charges that he killed his wife and five children, Judge Franklin Baker issued the five-page order on Thursday, one week after three doctors testified about evaluations they conducted on the defendant.

Competency is the legal definition of a defendant’s ability to understand and participate in a court case at any one time. Questions of mental illness have surrounded Damas’ case since his 2009 arrest and through frequent court outbursts.

During last week’s competency hearing, two out of three doctors testified that Damas understood the charges against him and was capable of helping his attorneys, but that he chose not to.
 ::snipping2::
Damas competency ruling
http://media.naplesnews.com/media/static/Damas_competent.pdf

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jun/23/mesac-damas-competent-naples/

 ::snipping2::
One, psychologist Robert Silver, diagnosed Damas as bipolar after a first evaluation. After a second examination in June, he determined the defendant suffered delusions of grandiosity and was incompetent to proceed, failing to understand the charges and penalties he faced.

Psychiatrist Frederick Schaerf and psychologist Michael Herkov reached a different conclusion after their evaluations. Both consulted jail logs and medical records and decided Damas did understand the charges and penalties, based in part on his interactions with jail staff. They said he was capable of helping his attorneys but chose not to do so.

Baker noted the distinction between a defendant’s inability to assist in his defense and his willingness to do so. He also wrote that Damas’ possible mental illness has little bearing upon his competency.

“The fact that Defendant may have a mental illness is certainly relevant to the issue of competency, but it is not determinative,” he wrote.
 ::snipping2::

[trimmonthelake]

Michzach, 9; Marven, 6; Maven, 5; Megan, 3; and Morgan, 11 months


Guerline Damas 32

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2011/jul/08/public-defenders-competent-Messac-Damas-murder/
Collier judge denies Mesac Damas' request to represent himself in death penalty case

    By JACOB CARPENTER
    Posted July 8, 2011 at 9:04 a.m., updated July 8, 2011 at 1:52 p.m.

NAPLES — Public defenders will continue to work Mesac Damas’ death penalty case after a judge on Friday denied Damas’ request to represent himself on six first-degree homicide charges.

Addressing Damas request of self-representation, Collier Circuit Judge Franklin Baker said Friday he was “not close to being confident” that Damas understands the seriousness of his request.

“You’ve got two good lawyers. I want to keep them involved in your case,” Baker said.

When Baker repeatedly asked why Damas wanted to represent himself, Damas responded only with religious preaching. He told Baker that “God is my lawyer” and “I don’t have a case.”
 ::snipping2::