SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) _ A northern Indiana judge has ruled a man convicted of abducting and killing a Franklin College student in 1997 is not competent to be executed.
St. Joseph Superior Court Judge Jane Woodward Miller ruled Thursday that Michael Dean Overstreet has schizophrenia and is not competent because he suffers from delusions. Defense attorney Kathleen Cleary the ruling doesn't overturn the death sentence, it simply stays it.
Overstreet was sentenced to death in 2000 after being convicted of abducting, raping and killing 18-year-old Kelly Eckart of Boggstown, about 15 miles southwest of Indianapolis. She was found strangled in a ravine in Brown County shot in the head.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller says his office will review the ruling and decide whether to appeal.
