What to Do About Edward Allaway?

Re “Spitzer Fights Serial Killer’s Release,” April 29:

Supervisor Todd Spitzer, intentionally or not, exerts unacceptable political pressure upon what should be an independent judiciary and impartial judicial proceeding--one governed not by passion and hatred but by reasoned opinion based on psychiatric reports, extensive psychiatric evaluation and credible facts.

I admire Todd; I’ve supported his candidacy. He is a long-overdue and much-needed breath of fresh air on the Board of Supervisors, time and again challenging dusty “business as usual” Orange County politics.

But in this instance, this rising-star politician is engaging in lobbyist-like behavior. As a member of the bar, that, in my opinion, is an affront to our judicial branch of government and the principals for which it stands.

As citizens, we expect our elected officials to be proponents in upholding the fairness and integrity of our legal system rather than using political position and influence possibly designed to create--and which may well result in--undue pressure upon the judicial officer assigned to hear Edward Allaway’s bona fide legal claims.

The cardinal rule of American jurisprudence is the impartiality and fairness afforded to all by an honored profession and branch of government. Allaway, as an American citizen, is guaranteed not only due process and equal protection of law but the principals under which they must operate.

One of these principals is that a judicial officer must be afforded an environment in which to make decisions and render opinions, though unpopular, without coercion by local politicians. Spitzer sadly appears to be using his privileged position to further stack the deck against an already-despised individual by championing, indeed by soliciting, the type and sort of pretrial publicity that typically gives rise to a change of venue.

Judith Michael Fouladi

Attorney and past president

South Orange County Bar Assn.

To the doctors who say Edward Allaway is sane and should now be released, I say the public should petition the courts for a writ of mandate making the doctors legally and financially liable once he is released. If the people who say he should be released refuse to this agreement, then there should be no release.

John Walsh

Anaheim

The Times on April 26 reported that Supervisor Todd Spitzer stated Edward Allaway “. . . should have been put to death 25 years ago.” It is unfortunate that Spitzer is compelled to use such harsh rhetoric.

Having a family member with a long history of mental illness, I have an appreciation that the disease never goes away and that the illness’ grave symptoms may recur for a number of reasons.

Psychiatry is the least reliable, least absolute medical science. There are no X-rays, MRIs, blood tests or other scientific tools to determine the existence or extent of the illness. It is not unusual for an intelligent schizophrenic to behave well for periods and convince the physicians that he or she is no longer ill. When released from a controlled environment, the individual returns to his or her prior state. How then can we rely on the psychiatric community to attest to Allaway’s current state of mind?

Then there is the issue of medication. Most schizophrenics who are behaving normally do so because they are taking medication. However, many, if not most, do not like taking the medication because of side effects or because they don’t “feel normal” while on the medication. If unsupervised, they cease taking their medicine, and the schizophrenic symptoms return. If the schizophrenic’s former state took the form of violence to others, the same thing will occur again. If the pattern was one of self-harm, another suicide attempt is likely.

With Allaway, given his former violent behavior, there is clearly too much risk to allow him to have access to society. It is likely he will either grievously harm someone again or he will be harmed himself when he becomes violent. This should not be permitted to occur.

Spitzer, as one of the leaders of our community, should not resort to outrageous means to prevent Allaway’s release. Perhaps Spitzer believes this approach is the only way to prevent Allaway’s release. Maybe so. But what must be done is to face up to the real problem and change the state law so that the release of the violent mentally ill into society is not permitted and the release of the nonviolent is adequately supervised.

Until that happens, unnecessary suffering of the mentally ill, victims of the mentally ill, and families of the victims and mentally ill will continue.

William Zintl

San Juan Capistrano