Possibility of Insanity Defense Raised by Lawyers’ Move in Ramirez Hearing

Lawyers for accused Night Stalker Richard Ramirez disclosed Wednesday that they plan to call two out-of-state medical experts to testify Monday on Ramirez’s demand that he no longer continue attending his preliminary hearing.

The defense attorneys said later that they have requested that the witnesses testify privately before Los Angeles Municipal Judge James F. Nelson because of a “strong possibility” that the testimony will be related to an eventual “affirmative defense.”

The statements outside the courtroom raise speculation that the defense may be laying the groundwork for a possible psychological defense to charges that Ramirez committed 14 murders and 54 other felonies in Los Angeles County during 1984 and 1985.

The defense attorneys, Daniel Hernandez and Arturo Hernandez, have declined comment on whether they may pursue an insanity defense. However, Daniel Hernandez acknowledged that “a new area may be opened up” following the upcoming hearing.

Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Gilbert I. Garcetti said defendants who plead that they were insane at the time they committed a crime generally do so at their Superior Court arraignments--after their preliminary hearings. Under California law, defendants can be ruled insane even if they have been deemed competent to participate in their preliminary hearings or trials, Garcetti added.