Psychiatrists to Evaluate Rabin Killer

In an unusual courtroom twist, a judge on Thursday ordered Yitzhak Rabin’s confessed assassin to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, even though neither the defense nor the prosecution had requested it.

The defense has never tried to argue that defendant Yigal Amir was insane when he shot the prime minister in November after a rally. But neither Amir nor his attorney objected to Judge Edmond Levy’s request for an evaluation.

If the psychiatric team determines Amir was not sane at the time of the shooting, he could be tried for manslaughter instead of murder and face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison instead of life.

On Thursday, during a court screening of an amateur video of the killing, the defendant smiled whenever the camera focused on the gunman. Amir leaned forward intently to watch the dramatic moment the prime minister was gunned down.

Amir says he shot Rabin to stop the policy of transferring West Bank land to the Palestinians.

Amir maintains he did not want to kill Rabin but sought to paralyze him and remove him from office.

Prosecutor Pnina Guy objected to the request for a psychiatric evaluation, arguing that Amir was mentally functional. She noted that the 25-year-old former law student has frequently taken charge of his defense by interrogating witnesses.

But Levy maintained the exam was needed to ensure that the trial’s outcome could not be challenged. “This is not a regular trial,” Levy said. “These are unusual circumstances.”