03-10-2006, 09:21 PM
A federal judge in Austin agreed Wednesday to rule on whether the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles went too far to keep tabs on an "odd, strange, eccentric" man who admitted that he accidentally killed his neighbor and then dismembered the body.
The outcome of the case, being closely watched by parole officials as a rare challenge to the board's omnipotent authority to set parolees' conditions of release, could potentially affect other convicts.
Robert Durst Acquitted of murder, he is on parole for tampering with evidence, bail jumping.
Robert Durst, 62, gained notoriety five years ago as the cross-dressing scion of a wealthy New York real-estate family who said he killed a neighbor in self-defense, then cut up the body and tossed its parts into Galveston Bay. Acquitted of murder, the reclusive businessman later pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and bail jumping and was sentenced to five years in prison.
His parole is to end in November.
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel, after hearing nearly two hours of attorneys' arguments punctuated with references to domestic diva Martha Stewart, guns, shoplifting and Durst's bizarre eccentricities, said he will decide soon whether to temporarily block parole officials from enforcing the stringent rules placed on Durst. He set no date for the ruling.
Dick DeGuerin, Durst's attorney, insisted Durst was illegally placed on the Super Intensive Supervision Program, which requires parolees to get a week's advance approval for their minute-by-minute daily schedules and confines them to their homes from dusk to dawn.
According to parole board rules, the only inmates eligible for the program are those who have "committed an act which resulted in a victim . . . an act which caused bodily injury or serious bodily injury or placed an individual in danger of bodily injury or serious bodily injury."
After Durst sued Feb. 24, the parole board dropped him from that program — but imposed new restrictions that essentially are the same, DeGuerin said.
"The board has not followed its own policy, and we think it's because of the notoriety of this case," DeGuerin told Yeakel. "The state has used (Durst's diagnosed medical condition) as a justification for imposing these conditions . . . when he is no threat. . . . He is being treated differently from other parolees."
Assistant Attorney General Reed Lockhoof countered that the board was well within its legal authority to impose the restrictions.
"He's a convicted felon just like any other convicted felon," he said.
Milton Altschuler, Durst's Houston psychiatrist, testified that Durst has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a form of autism where "people are seen as odd, strange, eccentric" because they cannot properly manage social interaction. In addition, he said, they often resist a daily regimen that other people would see as no problem — something that happened when Durst violated parole twice last Christmas.
In one instance, he stopped by Houston's upscale Galleria Mall, where he encountered the judge who sentenced him. He also drove to Galveston, when he was approved to go only to his Clear Lake office. The judge reported him, and parole officials jailed Durst for several weeks.
"In all medical probability, without the very stringent parole he is on, he would do well on parole," Altschuler told the judge, noting that Stewart violated her parole in much the same way as Durst did. "It's the same issue. She broke her parole."
"Is Mr. Durst similar to that?" Lockhoof asked.
Yes, answered Altschuler.
Lockhoof, appearing surprised, shot back: Stewart was never charged with murder or accused of cutting up a corpse, as was Durst.
Lockhoof noted Durst's past history of drug abuse, the shooting, dismembering the body, jumping bail and an arrest while on the run for shoplifting a sandwich and bandages, even though he had hundreds of dollars in cash with him.
"Bad decisions" all, Altschuler agreed, but all could be consistent with Asperger syndrome.
Altschuler noted that Durst has improved after extensive therapy.
State officials declined comment on any specifics of the case, pending Yeakel's ruling.
As he left the courtroom, Durst offered this view: "My attorneys are optimistic, so I'm optimistic."
From statesman.com
The outcome of the case, being closely watched by parole officials as a rare challenge to the board's omnipotent authority to set parolees' conditions of release, could potentially affect other convicts.
Robert Durst Acquitted of murder, he is on parole for tampering with evidence, bail jumping.
Robert Durst, 62, gained notoriety five years ago as the cross-dressing scion of a wealthy New York real-estate family who said he killed a neighbor in self-defense, then cut up the body and tossed its parts into Galveston Bay. Acquitted of murder, the reclusive businessman later pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and bail jumping and was sentenced to five years in prison.
His parole is to end in November.
U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel, after hearing nearly two hours of attorneys' arguments punctuated with references to domestic diva Martha Stewart, guns, shoplifting and Durst's bizarre eccentricities, said he will decide soon whether to temporarily block parole officials from enforcing the stringent rules placed on Durst. He set no date for the ruling.
Dick DeGuerin, Durst's attorney, insisted Durst was illegally placed on the Super Intensive Supervision Program, which requires parolees to get a week's advance approval for their minute-by-minute daily schedules and confines them to their homes from dusk to dawn.
According to parole board rules, the only inmates eligible for the program are those who have "committed an act which resulted in a victim . . . an act which caused bodily injury or serious bodily injury or placed an individual in danger of bodily injury or serious bodily injury."
After Durst sued Feb. 24, the parole board dropped him from that program — but imposed new restrictions that essentially are the same, DeGuerin said.
"The board has not followed its own policy, and we think it's because of the notoriety of this case," DeGuerin told Yeakel. "The state has used (Durst's diagnosed medical condition) as a justification for imposing these conditions . . . when he is no threat. . . . He is being treated differently from other parolees."
Assistant Attorney General Reed Lockhoof countered that the board was well within its legal authority to impose the restrictions.
"He's a convicted felon just like any other convicted felon," he said.
Milton Altschuler, Durst's Houston psychiatrist, testified that Durst has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, a form of autism where "people are seen as odd, strange, eccentric" because they cannot properly manage social interaction. In addition, he said, they often resist a daily regimen that other people would see as no problem — something that happened when Durst violated parole twice last Christmas.
In one instance, he stopped by Houston's upscale Galleria Mall, where he encountered the judge who sentenced him. He also drove to Galveston, when he was approved to go only to his Clear Lake office. The judge reported him, and parole officials jailed Durst for several weeks.
"In all medical probability, without the very stringent parole he is on, he would do well on parole," Altschuler told the judge, noting that Stewart violated her parole in much the same way as Durst did. "It's the same issue. She broke her parole."
"Is Mr. Durst similar to that?" Lockhoof asked.
Yes, answered Altschuler.
Lockhoof, appearing surprised, shot back: Stewart was never charged with murder or accused of cutting up a corpse, as was Durst.
Lockhoof noted Durst's past history of drug abuse, the shooting, dismembering the body, jumping bail and an arrest while on the run for shoplifting a sandwich and bandages, even though he had hundreds of dollars in cash with him.
"Bad decisions" all, Altschuler agreed, but all could be consistent with Asperger syndrome.
Altschuler noted that Durst has improved after extensive therapy.
State officials declined comment on any specifics of the case, pending Yeakel's ruling.
As he left the courtroom, Durst offered this view: "My attorneys are optimistic, so I'm optimistic."
From statesman.com