Oak Ridge Today

Psychiatric, mental health exams scheduled for Finnegan, Dishman

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Sean Finnegan, one of two defendants in a series of gruesome alleged crimes in Oak Ridge some time between December 2019 and August 2020, including murder, sex crimes, and kidnapping, is pictured above in a mugshot from the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office.

Psychiatric and mental health evaluations have now been scheduled for the two defendants charged with murder, sex crimes, kidnapping, and abuse of a corpse in a series of gruesome crimes allegedly committed against a 36-year-old woman in a home in east Oak Ridge between December 2019 and August 2020.

The mental health evaluation for Sean Finnegan, 52, the first co-defendant, is scheduled for Monday at Ridgeview Psychiatric Hospital in Oak Ridge. His evaluation was ordered by Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller on Friday, August 21.

Finnegan’s evaluation by Ridgeview is expected to include his competency to stand trial and his mental capacity at the time he allegedly committed the crimes against Jennifer Gail Paxton, the 36-year-old Knoxville woman who was killed, according to arrest warrants. Finnegan’s evaluation is also expected to include an IQ test and an evaluation of his ability to assess his conduct.

The results of the evaluation will be reported to public defender Kathy Kroeger, the court, and prosecutors. The results are usually not available to the public.

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Prosecutors withdraw death penalty in grandmother’s murder case

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Valerie Stenson

Valerie Stenson

Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against an Oak Ridge grandmother charged with first-degree murder in the death of her toddler granddaughter seven years ago.

Announcing the decision, prosecutors cited mental health issues, expense, and the strain put on the local court system in death penalty cases.

The state filed a withdrawal notice, announcing it would not seek the death penalty, in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on March 16. The withdrawal notice has not been previously reported. [Read more…]

Mental health evaluation ordered for man charged with terrorism

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Agey Christopher Stamey

Agey Christopher Stamey

 

A mental health evaluation has been ordered for a man who was charged with terrorism in January after allegedly threatening to blow up Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge with dynamite and shoot everyone inside with a shotgun.

The first evaluation for Agey C. Stamey II, 40, of Knoxville,was ordered at Ridgeview Psychiatric Hospital by Anderson County General Sessions Court Judge Roger Miller on January 25. The appointment had been scheduled for February 21, according to court records.

A second order, filed March 6, said Ridgeview had recommended that Stamey be referred to the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute in Chattanooga for an evaluation. A transport order filed Thursday said Stamey has an appointment scheduled for April 19.

The evaluation is expected to determine Stamey’s competency to stand trial and mental condition at the time of the crime (the insanity defense). [Read more…]

Death-penalty defendant to be taken to psychiatric hospital

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Valerie Stenson

Valerie Stenson

 

The Oak Ridge grandmother facing the death penalty in a first-degree murder case will be taken to a psychiatric hospital where her competency and mental health can be evaluated, according to Anderson County court records.

The defendant, Valerie Stenson, 53, is currently being held at the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville. She will be taken to Moccasin Bend Psychiatric Hospital in Chattanooga for an intake scheduled for 1:30 p.m. January 17, according to an order filed in Anderson County Criminal Court in Clinton on Wednesday, January 3.

A two-week trial for Stenson had been scheduled for December 2017, but it was canceled and a mental health evaluation was ordered. It’s not clear if or when the trial will be rescheduled.

Court orders filed in August and October called for a psychiatric evaluation of Stenson and a referral to Moccasin Bend, where experts can determine her competency to stand trial and her mental condition at the time of the crime (the insanity defense). [Read more…]