Judge to decide on Florida face-biter insanity plea

  • 📰 KPRC2
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 69 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 31%
  • Publisher: 68%

United States Headlines News

United States Latest News,United States Headlines

A former college student who randomly killed a Florida couple in their garage six years ago and then chewed on one victim’s face is finally set to go on trial on Monday.

FILE - This Oct. 3, 2016, photo, provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office, shows Austin Harrouff. Harrouff, a former college student who killed a Florida couple in their garage six years earlier and then chewed on one victims face, is finally set to go on trial, Monday, Nov. 21, 2022.

The trial has been delayed by the pandemic, legal wranglings and Harrouff’s recovery from critical injuries suffered while drinking a chemical during the attack. It will be in Stuart, an hour drive north of West Palm Beach, and last about three weeks. If Harrouff is ruled insane, Bauer will commit him to a secure mental hospital until doctors and a judge agree that he is no longer dangerous. That would also effectively be a life sentence, said Craig Trocino, a University of Miami law professor, because “it's highly unlikely” that doctors and a judge would risk releasing a killer as notorious as Harrouff.

Lea Johnston, a University of Florida law professor, said that only about 1% of felony defendants try an insanity defense because the bar to succeed is so high. About a quarter of those succeed, usually in a pretrial deal where prosecutors agree that the defendant's mental illness meets the standard.

Harrouff's attack made national headlines because of its brutality and randomness; he did not know the victims. He was a 19-year-old with no criminal record — a former high school football player and wrestler who was studying exercise science. He stripped nearly naked and attacked the couple in their open garage with tools that he found there. When police arrived, Harrouff was biting chunks off John Stevens' face.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 80. in US

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Judge to decide on Florida face-biter insanity plea after random killingsPolice say Austin Harrouff, a former college student, randomly killed a Florida couple in their garage six years ago and then chewed on one victim’s face.
Source: PennLive - 🏆 463. / 53 Read more »

Judge to decide on Florida face-biter insanity pleaFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A former college student who randomly killed a Florida couple in their garage six years ago and then chewed on one victim’s face finally goes on trial Monday, with a judge deciding whether he goes to prison for life or to a mental hospital. Well he seems nice 🙂 Why has it taken so long? But... but... I thought the purpose of trials was to determine if someone's innocent or not. Why is this confessed murderer going to trial?
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »

Judge to decide on Florida face-biter insanity pleaAustin Harrouff, 25, has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to two counts of first-degree murder and other charges for his August 2016 slayings of John Stevens, a 59-year-old landscaper, and his 53-year-old wife, Michelle Mishcon Stevens. give him the death penalty for looking like dat POS. Deserves death 6 years ago and just now going to trial? That has to be a record.
Source: wjxt4 - 🏆 246. / 63 Read more »

Judge to decide on Florida face-biter insanity pleaA former college student who killed a Florida couple in their garage six years ago and then chewed on one victim’s face goes on trial Monday, with a judge deciding whether he goes to prison for life or to a mental hospital. America has been out of control ever since Dr. Spocky rules came into place and you can no longer discipline these loser kids. Bath salt zombie. I remember this story... Doesn’t surprise me he’s a whitey! I think the only acceptable path forward is sentencing this menace to life in prison without the possibility of conjugal visits!!!
Source: NBCNews - 🏆 10. / 86 Read more »

Judge to decide on Florida face-biter insanity pleaA former college student who randomly killed a Florida couple in their garage six years ago and then chewed on one victim’s face is finally set to go on trial on Monday Bath Salts: Not even Once!
Source: WOKVNews - 🏆 247. / 63 Read more »