LAKE COUNTY — Whether Gerald Frank Stanley, now 63, was competent to stand trial 25 years ago is the question as court proceedings continue in Butte County Superior Court.
Lake County District Attorney Jon Hopkins is prosecuting the case. Stanley was sentenced to the death penalty after he was convicted in 1983 of shooting and killing his fourth wife, Cindy Rogers, at her parents” Nice resort late in 1980. Hopkins said the case was moved to Butte County when a judge found Stanley could not get a fair trial in Lake County because of pretrial publicity.
Butte County Superior Court Judge Steven Howell denied a motion to change Stanley”s defense attorney in a Thursday hearing. Chico attorney Dennis Hoptowit, who was appointed to defend Stanley, will continue to represent him following the ruling. Stanley is due back in Butte County Superior Court Nov. 4 before Howell to set a date for a competency hearing.
“Hoptowit and I will proceed toward setting a hearing to determine if we can conduct a competency trial, which is retrospective. In other words, was he (Stanley) competent 25 years ago during the penalty phase of his trial?” Hopkins said.
Hopkins said Stanley”s defense attorney in his 1983 trial requested a competency hearing because Stanley disagreed with the defense attorney about legal strategy, and the court appointed a different lawyer because Stanley claimed he was competent.
A jury found Stanley competent during his trial. A federal court ruled to set aside that ruling and hold another competency hearing based on jury misconduct, Hopkins said. He said the court based its finding on the failure of a juror to report she had experienced domestic violence, which Hopkins said was an issue in the case.
“Obviously, to go back 25 years and recreate a person”s mental state has some difficulty,” Hopkins said.
Stanley was convicted of second-degree murder in his the death of his second wife, Kathy Stanley, in 1975, according to court records.
Hoptowit could not be contacted by press time Thursday.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
