News Article 10-2-09
The man accused of massacring his wife and five children in North Naples should be force-fed vital medications to keep him alive, according to a Fort Myers attorney.
Mesac Damas, 33, who has diabetes, high blood pressure and a heart condition, has refused to take his life-sustaining medicine and has refused physical examinations and testing since being booked into the Collier County Jail a week ago, attorney Gregg Toomey said.
Toomey has filed a motion asking Collier Circuit Judge Frank Baker to order that Damas be forced to take his medications. Toomey filed the motion on behalf of Prison Health Services Inc., which provides medical care to Collier County Jail inmates.
"Without medical care, the defendant's medical condition is certain to deteriorate" and he faces being rushed to the hospital and possible "diabetic coma and death," Toomey states in the motion.
The attorney said he believes the judge has the authority to
order Damas be force-fed his medications.
Damas is charged with six counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his wife, Guerline Damas, 32, and their five children ages 9 years to 11 months.
He faces either life in prison or the death penalty.
Damas has been on suicide watch since he was booked into the jail a week ago after being deported from his native Haiti, where he fled following the killings at the family's North Naples town house.
Damas is accused of stabbing his wife and children and cutting their throats between the night of Sept. 17 and the early morning hours of Sept. 18.
Given the nature of the case, if Damas doesn't take his medicine and is rushed to the hospital, that "would present a formidable challenge from a security standpoint," Toomey states.
A hearing on Toomey's motion has not been scheduled.
Damas' attorney, Deputy Public Defender Michael Orlando, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
"I suspect that the court will be able to force him to take his medication because he's in the custody and care of the sheriff's office," said David Brener, a criminal defense attorney in Fort Myers.
Brener said Baker might order an independent evaluation by a psychiatrist to determine whether Damas is mentally incompetent to make daily decisions like taking his medicine.
Whether Damas is mentally competent is also something Orlando wants to find out.
Baker has already appointed a clinical psychologist, Paul Kling, at Orlando's request, to determine whether Damas is mentally competent to stand trial and whether he was insane at the time he allegedly killed his family