Could Thomas Markle Sr. Avoid Trial Over Competency Concerns?

 

The arrest of Thomas Markle Sr. got a lot of royal family followers talking about his daughter, Meghan Markle, but this week, NewsNation took a look at whether he will stand trial or end up in prison if found guilty of CSAM.

A Short Recap

On Thursday, former prosecutor and criminal defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh chatted with Paula Froelich on NewsNation on YouTube.

In her Scoop segment, she reminded followers that Thomas Markle was arrested after the discovery of images of young children in intimate scenes.

Allegations arrived that he had boxes of them in the Philippines, California, and Mexico.

The Arrest, Release & Redetention Of Markle

We already reported that a judge ordered Meghan’s dad to undergo a mental competency test. That’s because Thomas Markle Sr. apparently experienced some confusion and a lack of recall. It has to be done by November 20.

In the meantime, he was released on house arrest, but allegedly removed his monitor and has returned to sit behind bars. Froelich then moved on to discuss the competency question.

Competency And Cognitive Decline

Paula Froelich asked Mark Eiglarsh:

Can someone with dementia be tried and convicted for crimes like this? And does it matter if he was lucid when the crimes allegedly happened versus now?

Eiglarsh explained that dementia, or any other illness or disorder, does not automatically prevent someone from being prosecuted for a crime.

However, he also noted something else important. The former attorney said:

What’s going to be a problem is whether the person, in the current state that they’re in, whether it be dementia or anything else you call it, cannot assist his or her attorney in the handling of their case. And that may be the issue here.

What Might Happen Next?

Moving on, Froelich asked what will happen next if Thomas Markle Sr. is not found to be competent. Well, the simple answer per Eiglarsh is that “nothing happens next.”

Elaborating, he opined that if Thomas is found not competent, he “can’t make a decision as to whether he wants to contest extradition.”

Next, he reminded viewers that Meghan Markle’s dad is in Florida and the case is in California.

Therefore, the next step will be focused on extradition. He added, “And while it’s painfully obvious that not contesting extradition is the way to go…in his case, they can’t have that discussion if he’s allegedly clucking like a chicken.”

The duo discussed that if he’s found not competent, then any “extradition isn’t lawful because he didn’t have a chance to assist his attorneys.”

Will Thomas Remain In Florida?

Thomas might stay in Florida if he can’t assist his lawyers, and that could mean he never faces a trial. Eiglarsh did confirm, though, that this isn’t relevant only to Thomas Markle.

Across the board, they would either need to “be restored to sanity,” through medication or naturally, otherwise “it would be fundamentally unfair to proceed.”

Can Experts Really Determine Competency?

Next, the discussion moved on to whether experts can say whether a person is competent or not.

Using the Lindsay Clancy case as an example, Eiglarsh pointed out that medical professionals do have ways of finding out if competency exists, but “it’s not an exact science.”

Viewers React

In the comments section, one viewer said, “If he’s in early stages of dementia, he can be clear now and not six hours from now. Generally clearer early in the day.”

That came after the duo discussed the way Meghan’s brother, Thomas Jr., had allegedly said his dad was sharp and alert not long ago.

Here are a few more responses from the discussion:

• “Lady C has stated senior has been in cognitive decline for sometime, so junior is lying [IMO] if he is saying he was sharp until recently.”
• “If he is found mentally incompetent he Still won’t go home, he will be put in a state run home with other mentally incompetent inmates.”
• “Christina Siders was just found incompetent to stand trial due to dementia concerns.”

Your thoughts? Join the discussion and then come back here for more celebrity justice news and updates.