Becker's trial delayed due to storm, jury selection postponed to Wednesday

SHELL ROCK - Jury selection in the Mark Becker murder trial has been delayed due to the weather. Judge Stephen Carroll ruled Sunday afternoon that due to the impending snowstorm, jury selection has been moved to 9:30 a.m.. Wednesday.

Becker's defense team faces stiff odds and a high burden of proof as his trial gets under way this week in Butler County District Court.

Attorneys for Becker, who is accused of shooting and killing Aplington/Parkersburg football coach Ed Thomas, will mount an insanity defense, which is used in less than 1 percent of cases, according to the American Academy of Psychiatry. Only a quarter of those defendants are found guilty by reason of insanity.

With an insanity defense, Becker will have the burden of proof, instead of the prosecution, which is standard in most criminal cases.

Becker's attorney, Susan Flander, must prove Becker didn't understand the nature and quality of the act or didn't understand right from wrong when he fired multiple shots at Thomas on June 24.

An insanity case really comes down to the “battle of the experts” said Robert Rigg, associate professor at Drake University of Law. Two defense experts and two experts for the prosecution will testify as to Becker's mental state.

Becker was diagnosed by one expert, Fort Dodge forensic psychologist Dr. Dan Rogers, as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Rogers testified last year at Becker's competency hearing that he was delusional, has hallucinations and speaks “nonsensically about devils and eating cotton.”

Rogers said Becker didn't have the functional ability to understand the charges against him and can't assist in his defense because of his paranoid delusions and lack of understanding and comprehension.

The prosecution's expert at the hearing, Des Moines psychiatrist Dr. Michael Taylor, said Becker was fully competent to stand trial. He agreed Becker suffers from paranoid schizophrenia but said the psychosis stems from methamphetamine use.

Taylor said Becker was a calm, relaxed, pleasant and articulate young man when he was interviewed.

During the competency hearing, it was revealed Becker's medication had changed after Rogers' interview. The dosage of one anti-psychotic drug had been increased, which the judge took into account in ruling Becker was competent for trial.

Iowa attorneys have tried to present the insanity defense before. Just a few months ago, attorneys for Michelle Kehoe, 35, of Coralville, used the strategy in Grundy County, a short distance away from where Becker will be tried. In the end, Kehoe was convicted of killing her 2-year-old son and attempting to kill her 7-year-old son. Jurors said they thought she was mentally ill but didn't believe she fit the legal definition of insanity at the time the crime was committed.

Jury selection for Becker's trial will get under way at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in Shell Rock, where a community center will be used because of space concerns. About 220 people have been called for jury duty, out of which 12 will be selected to serve on the panel and two or more will be chosen to serve as alternates.

The trial is expected to last two weeks and will start as soon as a jury is selected. Aaron Thomas, son of Ed and Janet Thomas, said the family will be in attendance.