One sex offender is dead and another is in critical condition after another Hospital Patient, Richard McKee, went on an early-morning rampage Sunday at Atascadero State Hospital.
Early reports say that the dead victim, Lawrence Real, was beaten and strangled to death while the other victim, whose name has not yet been confirmed, suffered broken arms, legs, and ribs during the attack.
McKee had just recently (March 21, 2008) lost an appeal in San Diego Superior Court (see story) in which Judge Peter L. Gallagher upheld the constitutionality of the 2006 amendments to the act passed as Jessica’s Law, which provided in part that an individual committed under the act would remain in custody until he could prove that he no longer met the definition of a sexually violent predator. McKee's failed appeal had asserted that his federal constitutional rights to due process, equal protection under the law, and the ban against ex post facto laws had been violated.
These are preliminary reports and have not yet been confirmed by multiple sources.
An unnamed Hospital spokesperson, in speaking with a television reporter earlier today, denied that any such incident occurred.
We will provide further details as we learn more.
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