SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - The accused kidnapper of Elizabeth Smart will be medicated after the United States Supreme Court refused to get involved.
On Monday, the court refused to hear the appeal of accused kidnapper Wanda Barzee. Now, the stay on this case needs to be lifted before anything can move forward.
After that happens, doctors at Utah State Hospital will administer psychiatric drugs in hopes of getting Barzee back to competency for trial.
A docket entry on the U.S. Supreme Court website shows that Barzee's petition was denied on Monday.
Deputy District Attorney Alicia Cook said, “[The petition] wasn't anything novel; it didn't present the type of question we would expect the United States Supreme Court to spend its time addressing.”
With the highest court refusing to review Barzee's case, there are no more appeals to file to stop the order of involuntary medication.
Scott Williams, Barzee’s attorney, said, "We've exhausted all appellate avenues for Miss Barzee's constitutional rights in relation to this issue."
The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office said this decision will help move this criminal case forward.
Cook said, “If the United States Supreme Court had decided to take the appeal, it would have prolonged this process longer and we're already several years into this case.”
In another statement from Barzee's attorney, Williams said, "We expect that the stay will be lifted and Judge Atherton's order to involuntary medication will be enforced by the state hospital."
Still, it could be a while before a trial date is set.
Cook said, “There will be some time involved to administer the medication, see if it's effective, and if in fact Wanda Barzee can be restored to competency.”
There is no guarantee that this case will move forward from here. Cook said, “If we are not able to restore Wanda Barzee to competency we may very well be at the end of the road with the criminal case. We cannot proceed against an incompetent defendant.”
A big question that still needs to be addressed is whether Barzee was mentally ill when she and Brian David Mitchell allegedly abducted Elizabeth Smart nearly six years ago.
The main focus has just been on her level of competency during this case. Barzee has been in the Utah State Hospital since 2004. Doctors there say they are confident that psychiatric drugs will be successful in restoring her mental state, at least enough to stand trial.
