Attorneys representing convicted murderer Nicholas Roos in his attempt to obtain post conviction relief have filed a brief in support of their case as requested by Circuit Judge Gordon Webb.Prosecutors were also asked to file a similar brief.
A hearing lasting almost four hours was held March 28th in which both sides presented testimony and made arguments related to Roos Rule 37 Petition.
As is the case in most petitions, Roos alleges that the two attorneys representing him at the time, both appointed by the State Public Defender Commission, did an ineffective job of representing him.
Roos was one of three young people, all in their 20s, charged with the killing of an elderly Midway couple in early November 2015.
The main thrust of Roos Rule 37 Petition is that his two public defenders, Katherine Streett and Teri Chambers, did not request a mental evaluation — preventing him from exercising a defense of not guilty by reason of mental disease and defect.
Streett and Chambers both testified at the March 28th hearing and said a mental evaluation was not requested because in their substantial interaction with Roos, they did not believe there was any basis to question his mental stability. Chambers testified that, if the case had gone to trial, Roos claimed mental problems would have been used as a mitigating factor in the sentencing phase of the trial.
In the brief filed by two local attorneys appointed to represent Roos in his Rule 37 Petition process – John Crain and Justin Downum – they write that Streett and Chambers were in error when they chose to ignore the bizarre behavior of Roos, including a history of suicide attempts.
During his testimony on March 28th, Roos spelled out various alleged problems in his life, including drug use. Roos said he had used marijuana since about the age of 13, had been drinking since age nine and using what he described as party drugs.
Roos said he had been able to control his drug and alcohol use until about three years ago when the woman he was living with and the child they had together left him. He said at that point, he began using methamphetamine, opioids and drinking to get drunk.
Other witnesses testified to Roos paranoid behavior, including his belief that people were chasing him and shooting at him.
14th Judicial District Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Carter argued that the question was the state of Roos mental health on the day he shot and killed the Rice couple and burned down their home, not on problems he might have had in the past. Carter contended that there had been no evidence presented in the Rule 37 process to suggest Roos was suffering a mental disease or defect on the day he shot and killed the elderly couple.
Roos entered a guilty plea to charges related to the Rice murders and was sentenced to life without parole on May 24th last year.
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