On Wednesday, September 10, 2008, Judge Murdoch, on a motion by the defendant and agreed to by the State, declared Patricia Long mentally incompetent.

It was surreal. The hearing started with the public defender saying they finally had a report and the determination was incompetency and saying they needed to schedule a hearing on the matter. The assistant district attorney stated that she had no objection to the determination and thus a hearing was unnecessary.

There is so much to say, so much to ponder

Let us make it clear

Before Patricia entered the maws of the Beast Machine

·         She graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Classical Languages

·         Taught for five years to include one year teaching Latin and English at La Cueva  High School

·         When our daughter Jessica was born premature and spent a few weeks in ICU, Patricia left teaching and decided to stay home with the children

·         All three children tested gifted with genius level IQs

·         She volunteered for thousands of hours of work at church and at the children’s schools over the years.

·         She helped me build my business by helping out with general tasks at the office and responding to RFP’s

This is not to say that her mental illness was not present. She made three or four elaborate suicide gestures, she could never keep friends, she abused the children and myself, she compulsively lied on mist subjects, and she seemed to have problems understanding right from wrong.

But despite these problems, she maintained a level of functionality that allowed her and those associated with her to move forward with their lives.

In February 2002, Patricia filed for divorce and threw herself into the maw of the Beast Machine, dragging the children and I with her. The highlights are recorded in a previous blog.

So, you tell me. Did the thirty or so mental health professionals involved in this case after 2001, hurt or help?