Judge Hears Summations in Allaway Release Bid

In his final summation, an attorney for mass killer Edward Allaway told a judge Tuesday that after 25 years in state mental hospitals, the man who killed seven people at Cal State Fullerton can be safely released into society.

“He should be watched like a hawk--but he can be watched like a hawk,” said Deputy Public Defender John Bovee.

After listening to one month of testimony, Superior Court Judge Frank F. Fasel must now decide whether Allaway is fit to be released from Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino County. Allaway, 62, was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1977 and was ordered hospitalized until deemed safe.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Daniel Wagner told Fasel that Allaway remains a threat, noting that several psychiatrists testified at the hearing that they cannot predict how Allaway would respond to life outside a state hospital.

“There’s a real risk he could have another breakdown,” Wagner said. “It’s a recipe for disaster to pull him out of the only place he’s been stable.”

Allaway’s lawyers noted Tuesday that psychiatrists, including the staff at Patton, believe that the mass killer’s mental illness is in remission and that he is no longer a threat to the community. They suggest that Allaway be closely supervised by state mental health officials after his release and said Allaway could even be issued day or weekend passes while continuing to live at Patton.

Though Allaway was once diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, several doctors testified that his mental illness has been in remission for years. Under the law, Allaway is suitable for release, Bovee said.

“This is a court of law, not a court of public opinion,” Bovee said, as relatives of Allaway’s victims sat somber-faced in the courtroom audience. “Were it the latter, the decision would be clear.”

Judges have twice previously rejected Allaway’s bids for release.

Fasel told lawyers he expects to issue a written decision on the case before Christmas. “Rest assured this court makes its decisions based upon the facts presented in the four walls of this courtroom and the law,” Fasel said. “Any other emotion doesn’t count.”