Palin stalkers leave Alaska for psychiatric evaluation

ANCHORAGE — A Pennsylvania father and son who pleaded guilty to charges they harassed lawyers representing Sarah Palin have apparently been sent to a federal prison out of state for psychiatric evaluations.

Shawn Christy, 20, and Craig Christy, 48, pleaded guilty to making harassing interstate telephone calls to an attorney who helped Palin win a series of restraining orders against the men. The phone calls in question took place in August 2011, nearly a year after a judge granted Palin the first restraining order.

The Christys were set to receive their sentences Feb. 13, but U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess balked.

“There is reasonable cause to believe that the defendant may presently be suffering from a mental disease or defect for which he is in need of custody for care or treatment in a suitable facility,” Burgess wrote in his order in Shawn Christy’s case.

Burgess handed down a nearly identical order in Craig Christy’s case that also requires a psychiatric evaluation.

Shawn Christy’s attorney, Mary C. Geddes, asked Burgess to reconsider the order, saying two psychiatrists had already evaluated her client.

“Neither psychiatrist found that Christy suffers from the type of ‘mental disease or defect,’ which would require custody for treatment,” Geddes wrote.

Two doctors also stated that locking the younger Christy up longer than necessary in a federal prison might cause him harm, “as he is undersocialized and impressionable.”

Burgess denied that motion, as well as one from prosecutors asking that Christy be evaluated by a psychologist rather than a psychiatrist. The federal Bureau of Prisons has a lot more psychologists available than psychiatrists.

“The court meant what it said. Shawn Christy has been examined by several psychologists and needs to be examined by a psychiatrist,” Burgess wrote.

Geddes argued that two psychiatrists and one psychologist had examined Shawn Christy. But Burgess wasn’t swayed.

“As the testimony at the sentencing hearing from medical professionals and one of the victims demonstrates, this case raises serious concerns about both the mental health of the defendant and the need to protect the public. Counsel’s proposal to release the defendant — an individual with no formal education and few job skills — back into the same environment that he was in when he committed the crimes at issue with his co-defendant is not acceptable to the court,” the judge wrote in a ruling handed down March 8.

According to minutes from a March 9 hearing, attempts to have Shawn Christy evaluated locally by a contracted psychiatrist also failed and he was ordered transferred to “FCI Buckner” as soon as possible.

“FCI” is an acronym used in the federal prison system for federal correctional institution. The federal prisons website lists no such place as FCI Buckner, but does list an FCI Butner in North Carolina, a medium security facility that is part of a larger collection of facilities, including a medical center.

Contact reporter Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.