Crime & Safety
Nick Hall May Be Evaluated By A Forensic Psychologist
Attorney Jack Blakeslee has filed a motion to evaluate whether the alleged school bomb threat caller was competent to waive Miranda rights.
MARIETTA, OH — Nicholas Hall was arrested in May. Officials with the Washington County Sheriff's Office say the 18-year-old Georgian used an app to disguise his number, made a series of bomb threats to area schools, as well as some schools outside the area. He was arrested in Georgia and extradited to the Washington County Jail where he currently sits on $2,000,000 bond.
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Hall allegedly waived his Miranda rights and confessed to investigators. He also spoke out from jail about the crimes in an interview with Patch. His lawyer is now questioning whether Hall had the mental capacity to make these decisions.
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This week, Hall's public defender Jack Blakeslee filed a motion to evaluate the competency of Nicholas Hall. He's asked for a forensic psychologist to examine Hall's competency to stand trial, waive his Miranda rights, speak to law enforcement officers, and give press interviews.
In the motion, Blakeslee questioned Hall's ability to manage his own behavior to avoid trial disruptions, his ability to refrain from irrational and unmanageable behavior during the trial, his ability to participate with counsel in planning legal strategy, his ability to realistically consider possible defenses, his ability to testify relevantly, and his ability to make decisions after receiving advice.
Find out what's happening in Mariettafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The motion for a competency evaluation of the defendant by a forensic psychologist was filed on Tuesday. It isn't known when this evaluation will be complete. Prosecutor Nicole Coil says this will take a toll on the speedy time for the case because the evaluation will likely not be completed prior to the final pretrial date.
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