Attorney says priest too sick to stand trial

KENTUCKY
Houston Chronicle

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — An attorney for a terminally ill Catholic priest says the Rev. James Schook is so sick and incapacitated his upcoming trial would be a “mockery.”

But prosecutors say Schook is “spry” and can move around with the use of a walker.

Schook, 65, has been diagnosed with terminal skin cancer. Jefferson Circuit Judge Mitch Perry said a letter from Schook’s doctor presented in court Wednesday indicated that Schook’s death is “imminent.”

Schook is accused of abusing two boys in the 1970s and faces seven counts of sodomy. His trial is set for Monday but defense attorney David Lambertus is planning to enter a motion to have Schook’s competency evaluated by state officials.

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