Is Killer Professor Insane?

Cited: Associated Press

The attorney for Amy Bishop, the Alabama college professor accused of killing three colleagues during a faculty meeting, may be insane because she cannot remember the shootings.

Roy W. Miller, the court-appointed attorney for Amy Bishop, told The Associated Press in an interview on February 18 that his client has severe mental problems that appear to be paranoid schizophrenia. Miller discussed the case hours after hundreds of mourners attended the first funeral and memorial services for Bishop’s slain co-workers.

Authorities said three more people were hurt when Bishop pulled out a handgun and started shooting during the routine meeting with colleagues on Feb. 12. Charged with capital murder and attempted murder, she is being held without bond.

Miller said Bishop’s failure to obtain tenure at the University of Alabama in Huntsville was likely a key to the shootings. Bishop, who has a doctorate from Harvard University and has taught at the University of Alabama in Huntsville since 2003, apparently was incensed that a lesser-known school rejected her for what amounted to a lifetime job.

“Obviously she was very distraught and concerned over that tenure,” Miller said. “It insulted her and slapped her in the face, and it’s probably tied in with the Harvard mentality. She brooded and brooded and brooded over it, and then, `bingo.’”

Bishop’s husband, James Anderson, told ABC’s “Good Morning America” he also thought the failed tenure battle was involved.

“Only someone who has been intricately involved with that fight understands what a tough, long, hard battle (it is) … That I would say is part of the problem, is a factor,” he said in an interview aired February 19.

For those who are in need of a different type of lawyer . . . One law firm has more than enough experience and skill to represent you in your time of need. These Los Angeles criminal attorneys and staff have more than 30 years of combined experience in personal injury law and are committed to zealously and diligently pursuing your case. It is important to them that you have peace of mind knowing your legal needs are being handled by skilled Orange County burn injury lawyer who truly cares for your best interests and once nothing more than to help you recover the compensation you deserve

Anderson said his wife had never taken any anger management courses, even though prosecutors asked for that when Bishop was charged with starting a fight over a booster seat at a restaurant in 2002. Anderson told ABC he didn’t think she needed the course. Bishop admitted to the assault in court, and the charges were dismissed six months later.

Miller said Bishop seems “very cogent” in jail, where he has spent more than three hours with her over two days, yet she also seems to realize she has a loose grip on reality.

“She gets at issue with people that she doesn’t need to and obsesses on it,” Miller said. “She won’t shake it off, and it’s really (things of) no great consequence.”

Bishop, who claims an IQ of 180, can’t explain the shootings, he said.

“She says she does not remember anything about it,” said Miller.

The chief prosecutor in Huntsville said he would not oppose a mental evaluation for Bishop, 45.

“In this case, as in all cases, if they want to start talking about a mental defense, then have at it. We’ll be ready when it comes to court,” said Madison County District Attorney Robert Broussard.

Miller said he expects prosecutors to seek the death penalty, but Broussard said his office hasn’t decided whether to seek Bishop’s execution or a sentence of life without parole if she is convicted.

“We’ll wait until we have every piece of evidence in front of us to decide on that,” said Broussard. He said investigators had yet to review evidence about Bishop’s troubled past, including her fatal shooting of her younger brother in 1986 in a case authorities in Massachusetts ruled accidental.

In Bishop’s only public comments since the slayings, the teacher said the shootings “didn’t happen. There’s no way.”

“What about the people who died?” a reporter asked as she was led to a police car hours after the killings.

“There’s no way. They’re still alive,” she responded.

The shooting decimated the biology department - of 14 members, six were killed or wounded, one is jailed, and the rest are dealing with the shock and loss of colleagues. Two of those shot were hospitalized in critical condition Thursday, while another who was shot in the chest has been released.

Mourners hugged and cried Thursday at a memorial service for biology department chairman Gopi K. Podila. A long line of mourners moved slowly from the funeral home lobby, down a hallway and before an open casket in the sanctuary.

He was remembered as a father figure who cared deeply about his students, the kind of professor who kept his office door open in case they needed to talk about personal problems. Former student Joy Agee recalled that he helped her overcome her anxiety about a speech to a community group by showing up in the audience.

“He told me if I got nervous during the speech to just look at him and just talk to him,” she said.

Podila had supported Bishop’s tenure application.

After the service for Podila, more than 100 people attended a service held by the Council on African-American Faculty for slain biology professors Adriel Johnson and Maria Ragland Davis.

Johnson had organized the council at UAH in 2004, while Davis helped promote it in recent years. The two were among seven black faculty members at the school at the time, a number that had grown to 14 prior to their deaths. Overall, the school has 340 full-time faculty members.

“We have not only lost two founding members of our group but we have also lost two of our biggest advocates,” said Sonja Brown-Givens, the council’s current president.

On February 26, a spokesman, Ray Garner, for the University of Alabama in Huntsville confirmed that the school was in the process of terminating any Bishop’s employment. Garner also stated that Bishop was retroactively suspended without pay since the shootings on February 12.

————————————————

My Take: This is one of those strange cases. Am I the only one that thinks it’s strange that she “accidentally” shot her brother and killed him? Everything I have read is confusing about that one incident. Yet she was not arrested or convicted of a crime. Now she claims she doesn’t remember the shooting at the University and her lawyer thinks she’s insane. Maybe she should hire an Ocean County criminal attorney instead of having a court-appointed one.

I would love to be the LA California court reporting service that takes her deposition. That would be very interesting to hear. Although, LA Court reporters are restrained or restricted from talking about what they hear. Still, it would be interesting to hear.

What I think is curious is that the only motive that they have come up with is her tenure? I know tenure means that you can’t just be fired, but if she was a good teacher she should be able to get a job anywhere, unless she actually has some kind of mental disorder. One thing is for sure, she wouldn’t have need of an NJ juvenile defense law firm.

————————————————

Related Resources

Criminal Law and Driving

You are committing a crime if you knowingly drink and drive. A Redwood City CA criminal defense lawyer would explain to you in detail what your crime is. Anyone who wants to drink and drive might take into consideration the consequences because when they need a Redwood City DUI attorney is too late.

Texas Defense

The primary goal and every single criminal defense case is to ensure that a client gets a fair and just treatment as promised by the Constitution of the United States of America. That is true even if you’re been driving drunk and need a Dallas DWI attorney. There is one firm of Texas criminal attorneys that you can get to represent you in the right way.

Experience Does Count

A Monmouth County NJ criminal attorney who has been part of the landscape in the criminal justice system for years knows when to fight and how to fight. They also know when not to fight, and when to “back off” a bit and negotiate. That is a knowledge and skill borne only from experience. If you have been charged with a crime or offense, or have been contacted by authorities, you need an experienced, seasoned Monmouth County NJ Municipal Court lawyer at your side, because the beginning of the case is critical. Do not make a mistake at the point that could cost you for years.

Article Rating: