Opinion ID: 446964
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Diminished. Okay. Free will is on a continuum, I believe.

Text: 69    70    71 A. But the question ... the second part of the question was very ... was worded in such a way that it said, is he suffering from a mental disease that may substantially affect. It was very broad. 72 Q. Okay. By may, do you ... is it also possible that it may not; is that what you're saying? 73 A. No. I think in his case, it has to be a factor that has to be looked at and addressed by the Court. I think it does influence him to a certain degree, maybe even a substantial degree. 74    75    76 Q. Do you think that ... do you think that a terminal cancer patient experiencing pretty severe depression can make a rational choice to end his own life? 77 A. Yes, I believe he can. I don't think the fact that someone is depressed or they're facing overwhelming life circumstances means that they're irrational about any choice to either live or die necessarily. 78 Some people may be. Like if Mr. Rumbaugh was in a psychotic state where his perception of the world was grossly distorted and one would certainly argue then that perhaps his decision in any regard, either to continue with appeals or not to continue appeals was not based on rational reason. 79 But at least the reasons he gave to me during this course of evaluation seemed to be pretty rational reasons for pursuing his course of action. 80 And I think there was a list of questions we submitted to him, I think it's very important for all parties concerned to review his answers to those because I think they were very cogent answers for the most part. 81 Q. So I believe in your report and in your testimony, it's your professional opinion that any depression that Mr. Rumbaugh may be experiencing at the present time does not impair his ability to make a rational choice about what to do, to understand the situation that he's in and to realistically assess the options available to him, is that correct? 82 A. His assessment of his options, his current legal situation was very factual, it was very logical. 83    84    85 Q. He then basically in your opinion does recognize the ... his mental condition as deteriorating where he's at? 86 A. Yes, he does. 87 Q. And that that in effect is partially or at least has some influence on his desire to waive his appeals? 88 A. Yes. Not only his current conditions influence him but also he's fairly pessimistic, realistically so, unfortunately, about his future prospects, even if the appeals were successful. 89    90    91 THE COURT: Doctor, let [me] tell you what I'm hearing you say and you tell me if I'm hearing you correctly. 92 THE WITNESS: Okay. 93 THE COURT: What I'm hearing you say is that Mr. Rumbaugh has been miserable for a very long time. 94 THE WITNESS: That's true. 95 THE COURT: That he's miserable now. 96 THE WITNESS: Yes. 97 THE COURT: And he expects to be miserable in the future. 98 THE WITNESS: Yes. 99 THE COURT: That based on the personality that he has and based on the circumstances in which he's now placed, that that assessment that he will be miserable in the future is realistic. 100 THE WITNESS: Yes, it is. 101 THE COURT: And that he has ... he is able to think coherently. 102 THE WITNESS: Yes. 103 THE COURT: He's able to understand what's going on. 104 THE WITNESS: Yes. 105 THE COURT: And his decision is rational based on what he presently faces. 106 THE WITNESS: Yes, it is. Based on his past experience and what he presently faces, I believe it's rational, or logical, at least. 107 THE COURT: All right. Do you want to elaborate on what I'm ... is there something I'm not hearing that you're trying to say? 108 THE WITNESS: No, I think you're hearing it very well. 109 As we appreciate Dr. Logan's reports and testimony, and considering Rumbaugh's written answers to the extensive questions posed, it appears that Charles Rumbaugh is able to feed relevant facts into a rational decision-making process and come to a reasoned decision; that one of the facts fed into the process is that Rumbaugh is mentally ill, he has severe depression, with no hope of successful treatment which would reduce his current mental discomfort to a tolerable level or enable him to exist in the general prison population or the outside world if his appeals were successful; that Rumbaugh's assessment of his legal and medical situations, and the options available to him, are reasonable; but that if the medical situation vis-a-vis treatment were different, Rumbaugh might reach a different decision about continuing judicial proceedings. In other words, Rumbaugh's disease influences his decision because it is the source of mental pain which contributes to his invitation of death. 110 Rumbaugh's written answers to the questions and his statements to the doctors and to the court clearly reflect his awareness of his legal situation and of his right to file state and federal habeas petitions. His answers to the questions list several arguably sound grounds for attack which could not be summarily rejected. Rumbaugh indicates adequate awareness of this reality. He understands his situation and his options. His ability to make the life/death choice is apparent from his comments to Dr. Logan that if he thought that meaningful treatment were available and if it were offered, he would probably change his decision not to appeal. We find that decision to be the product of a reasonable assessment of the legal and medical facts and a reasoned thought process, albeit one that we would disagree with. 111 Our conclusion that the evidence supports the district court's finding of competency is reinforced by Rumbaugh's actions after the district court's decision and while the appeal was under advisement. He filed an extremely coherent and well-reasoned pro se state habeas corpus petition. That petition states substantial grounds for attacking his conviction and sentence. When it became apparent that this appeal would not be dismissed because of the state petition, he withdrew his pro se petition, stating in his motion to dismiss that he believed the grounds substantial and well-founded but that he was making the choice not to appeal. 112 Rumbaugh has striven mightily to prove his mental competence to make his legal decisions. He convinced the district court who presided over the dramatic hearings. We cannot tag that finding as clearly erroneous. Nor can we conclude as a matter of law that a person who finds his life situation intolerable and who welcomes an end to the life experience is necessarily legally incompetent to forgo further legal proceedings which might extend that experience. Gilmore v. Utah. 113 AFFIRMED.