Condemned Man Aware of His Fate, Hearing Told

Prosecutors in the sanity hearing of triple murderer Horace Kelly continued to try to make their case Wednesday that he has some inkling of his fate.

San Quentin State Prison Lt. John McAuliffe testified that after Kelly was told that he was to be executed, he talked about being in “real trouble.”

Kelly, 38, was scheduled to be executed April 14 for killing three people in San Bernardino and Riverside counties in 1984.

But a pre-execution report raised doubts about his sanity. It is illegal to execute the insane, and an obscure state law requires a hearing before a jury to determine if an inmate is mentally incompetent.

Kelly’s attorneys introduced testimony from doctors who contended that Kelly has a severe mental illness and is not competent.

But a psychiatrist testifying for the prosecution Tuesday said she thought that Kelly was aware of his pending execution and why he is being executed.

Dr. Diane McEwen said she was able to talk to Kelly on a number of topics and he was able to give her the names of two of his victims.

McAuliffe testified Wednesday that he and another prison official approached Kelly as he was playing basketball in the prison yard a day after being told of his April execution date.

The officials asked Kelly if he understood what had happened.

“He looked at me and said ‘I guess I’m in real trouble now,’ ” McAuliffe said.

Attorneys had been expected to wrap up their cases by week’s end. But late Wednesday, lawyers indicated that the case may run longer.