See What Happens When Activists Don't Get Mental Health Treatment For Their Delusions
author: Mr. Bill
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They end up like Billy Cottrell and burn and vandalize SUV's. Admit it, you need help. I don't need any help finishing off this bottle of rye though.
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Cottrell's mental state at issue: Defense attorneys plan to argue ecoterrorism suspect was duped
 http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/Stories/0,1413,206~22097~2351117,00.html
By Gene Maddaus , Staff Writer
Defense attorney Michael Mayock is wearing a "Free Billy' T-shirt these days. The shirts are available from freebillycottrell.org, in exchange for a $15 donation to the alleged ecoterrorist's defense fund.
On the back, it reads "Don't waste a beautiful mind.'
The reference is to the 2001 movie in which Russell Crowe plays the brilliant but schizophrenic mathematician John Nash.
The first time the phrase was applied to Billy Cottrell a Caltech grad student accused of fire-bombing and spray- painting more than 100 SUVs a year ago was in March, when Mayock's co- counsel Marvin Rudnick used it during an impromptu news conference outside federal court.
Asked afterward if he was foreshadowing an insanity defense, Rudnick said, "We're not foreclosing any possibility here.'
Five months later, the two defense attorneys have filed notice that they do intend to make an issue of Cottrell's mental state. The attorneys announced last week that a defense expert has diagnosed Cottrell with Asperger's syndrome, also known as "high-functioning autism.'
Those who have Asperger's, the attorneys say, have a hard time functioning socially, tend to take things too literally and are also prone to bouts of confusion. They are often also uncommonly bright, and can focus on particular problems much longer than those who don't have the illness.
Patients also tend to be less violent than the general population, the attorneys said. Asperger's syndrome was accepted into the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual in 1994.
In Cottrell's case, they argue, he could have been duped into participating in the vandalism spree by more nefarious characters. Two other suspects remain at large, and are thought to be outside the country.
"If 'Rain Man' was adopted by Jesse James, would 'Rain Man' be a criminal?' asked Rudnick, making yet another movie reference.
Cottrell maintains he did not commit arson, but has not denied being present at the crime scene or spray-painting vehicles.
His attorneys argue his condition could have led him to "go along with what was happening without knowing what was happening.'
Rudnick and Mayock hope to argue that Cottrell's condition made him incapable of forming the appropriate intent required for an arson conspiracy. If Judge Gary Klausner allows them to raise the issue in court when the Oct. 26 trial begins, they believe it will be the first time such a defense will have been used in the federal system.
It has been used at least once in a state case. Millionaire Robert Durst was acquitted last year of murder, though the evidence showed that he had chopped up the body and thrown it into Galveston Bay.
His attorneys claimed self-defense. They explained Durst's behavior after the death by referring to Asperger's syndrome. The ailment led Durst to panic and dismember the body when he should have been calling police, the lawyers argued.
Prosecutors have yet to respond to the notice that Cottrell's attorneys intend to raise Asperger's syndrome as a defense.
"If the court determines that evidence of Mr. Cottrell's mental condition is admissible and relevant, the government will have to rebut that,' said prosecutor Jason DeBretteville, who acknowledged he knew little about the disease.
The diagnosis took a leading expert six hours of interviews with Cottrell, plus tests and studies of his family history, Mayock said.
"It's not a Twinkie defense,' Mayock said.
The attorneys have asked that in light of the diagnosis, the most severe count against Cottrell be dropped. That charge, that he threw a Molotov cocktail into an SUV, carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum of life.
"The government is seeking a life sentence for what amounts to property damage in the name of environmental awareness,' Cottrell said in a statement released by his attorneys. "There is no clearer indication of the extremely political nature of my case than the degree to which the punishment is disproportionate to the crime.'
Cottrell remains at Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where he is being held without bail. On Saturday it was reported that forensic experts have matched a hair found at one of the SUV dealerships to Cottrell. His attorneys maintain the evidence does not prove that Cottrell is guilty.
Cottrell's attorneys believe the aggressive prosecution is part of a larger government approach to all forms of "domestic terrorism.'
"This is an effort, because of 9/11, to do their part to stop the next attack,' Rudnick said. "They've decided this case fits into that genre.'
Cottrell's mental state, they argue, is further proof that he does not deserve 30 years to life.
"Now that they know he has Asperger's, that should explain to the government that he's innocent, and he should be released,' Rudnick said.
-- Gene Maddaus can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4444, or by e-mail at  gene.maddaus@sgvn.com .
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homepage: http://freebillycottrell.org/
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add a comment on this article
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You can report for duty right after your cold shower. Oh, and here's a bottle of aspirin.
Kisses... ;)