PTSD on trial:Courtney Lockhart Army veteran

Lockhart: 'not guilty by reason of mental defect'
June 12, 2008 :: Front BY LINDSAY O'NEAL / News Editor
Courtney L. Lockhart’s defense attorneys requested the right to amend any of the not-guilty pleas entered, pending the results of a mental evaluation.

Lockhart, 23, pleaded not guilty to all four charges against him at his arraignment, which included three capital murder charges related to the March 4 death of Auburn University freshman Lauren Burk and a robbery charge for a robbery committed at Short Stop in Smiths Station, Lockhart’s hometown.

Lockhart confessed to the abduction, robbery and shooting of Burk, an 18-year-old from Marietta, Ga., after being arrested in Phenix City.

A Lockhart attorney, Jeremy Armstrong, asked Lee County Circuit Court Judge Jacob A. Walker III to reserve the right to amend any of Lockhart’s four not-guilty plea’s to not guilty by reason of mental defect or disease; Walker agreed.

Joel Collins, Lockhart’s lead defense attorney, requested the mental evaluation. It was requested by state professionals and the defense’s expert at the end of April, but in court, Collins said the evaluation had not been completed. He also requested a gag order, which went into effect a week after the request.

Collins filed court documents that describe Lockhart as “suffering from some mental disease,” saying he “lacks the ability to understand the difference between right and wrong.” The Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation will conduct the test.

Lockhart’s service in the Army in Iraq from August 2004 to July 2005 may provide the basis for the defense’s plea.

In an interview with a Columbus, Ga., TV station WTVM, Lockhart’s mother, Catherine Williams, said her son was an Iraq war veteran who came back a changed man.

Lockhart’s defense may say Lockhart’s insanity stems from post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to The National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can occur after a traumatic event like military or combat exposure, and feelings of hopelessness, despair and acts of violence are common problems associated with PTSD.

Lockhart served as a Pvt. 1st Class and had several run-ins with his fellow soldiers.

After being court-martialed and sentenced to confinement, Lockhart was given a bad conduct discharge for charges including assault in December 2006.

Lockhart was court-martialed at Fort Carson, Colo., and convicted of communicating a threat and use of marijuana as well as assault in August 2006.

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