Amanda Rink, Editor
Lukouxs Brown of Eagle Grove has been ruled mentally unfit to stand murder trial.
The Iowa Supreme Court overturned a Wright County District Court choice that had deemed Brown competent to face first-degree murder charges, concluding that Brown may never be fit for trial. Court records reveal that Brown has a history of mental health hospitalizations.
Brown is accused of fatally stabbing 50-year-old Wayne Smith in the employee locker room of the Prestage Pork Plant in Brown Eagle Grove on Feb 16, 2021.
The Iowa Supreme Court identified procedural errors in the district court’s handling of Brown’s competency evaluations. Prosecutors were allowed to conduct a second psychological evaluation after Brown had already been declared incompetent and begun treatment.
According to the Supreme Court, such evaluations are only allowed during the first assessment phase, not after the treatment begins.
