Jurors see video of Massachusetts fire scene

As a Mental Health Professional treating MH/DD/SA clients, it is easy to empathize with those with any type of mental defect. The important thing to remember when gauging ones mental abilities, and capacities is to consider their previous endeavors, successes, and tribulations in their life; as well as, how they handled their decision making processes. The disheveled look of the defendant should be irrelavant as she has been in prison now for 10 years. She is likely knowledgeable about the defense process for her, if she remains in a constant state of irrelavance. Competent or not, if she did this horrific crime, if not convicted, what tragic could she next inflict upon another family. Is that not what the justice system is about, dimininishing recitivism of crime by confining those a danger to themselves and/or others.
Lastly, if the defendants cognitive abilities are sufficient enough to own the crime she did/did not committ in order to defend her son, this means she knows her son would have been in the wrong; thus, she knew if she committed the crime SHE was in the wrong. Theres the catch, and the reasonable doubt, that this woman knew that same crime, if she committed it, would be wrong if the act was in need of a defense.

Charise Frasier BHS/QP

I wanted to also send a sad reminder for the horrible arson and loss of the life of 4 firefighters in Seattle in 1995:

SEATTLE - Fourteen years ago on Jan. 5, four firefighters died while battling an unpredictable blaze.

In 1995, a group of firefighters ran into Mary Pang's Food Products plant in South Seattle. The men, who were brave enough to run into an inferno, never expected the floor to give way and drop them into the burning basement below.

Pang's son, Martin Pang, later confessed to setting the fire in an attempt to collect insurance money. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

I was in prision in Framingham State with this woman , believe me she is not "all there".

it will be very interesting to see how this all plays out for itself, wont it?

It has been proven that KAthleen Hilton has mental hanicaps however she should not be given any type of special privlages to get her out of her responsibility to the act of this crime.

she seems to be very disconnected from the understanding of the seruious of the crime that she is charges with.

she needs help yes, but prision would be the best option for her if she were not to get the death penalty.

I dont understand why the death penalty hasnt been sought out in this crime. She said that she had the "special" oils with her and set them on fire in the house to purify Krystina. she knew what she was doing and that it would begin a fire.

she had been in contact with Krystina and her grandchildren and knew that other families lived in this building too. She knew there was a risk that others could potientially get harmed. not just Krystina and her family members.

Obviously she has her mental health issues but I do believe she should be judged according to her actions of the crime not her mental health issues.

Goof luck KAtherine... if it were me on the jury.. Id vote for you to have prision

l feel for the family, but l have a sister like kathleen ,one thing about people like they are very easily maniputed to do things for approval , and to be accepted and loved byn there loved ones.l think her son holds a big part of the puzzle , for the right answers.good luck katherine, u need help , u have in prison for 10 yrs, neither guity or innoncent, what a way to live. l hope u have closure soon.

i guess i do not understand something ... this prosecuter has been all over the place and in my opioun she is loseing this case big time... i sit in alot of trails around here and if she was working here she would have been fired after her first trail... this oman seems to have no idea what she is doing ... AM I THE ONLY 1 TO SEE THIS?

sad

I don't really know why they are even having a trial. First, it happened ten years ago, and the woman confessed how many times? Even so, she is obviously in need of professional physcological help, not prison. I realize people died in that fire, and she should get a slap on the wrist, but I just don't think somebody like her who did what she did has any real grasp on reality. I realize alot of people make out like their crazy when the go to trial to try to get out of taking blame for their crime, but this lady didn't. She practically shouted to the whole world that she did this. Just take a real good look at her; it's not hard to see that nobody is really home.

I think you all should lay off the prosecutor for a while. Often in court you get distracted by a witness' answer, or an objection you were not expecting. It's easy for each of you to be overly critical (and you are right it does become distracting for a jury when the prosecutor has seemingly lost his/her place) but think of how much she has going on. She has a murder trial on COURT TV where thousands of people are watching, not to mention the over 80 witnesses she needs to keep straight. For all of you who have criticized, think about that, none of you know what it is like to be in front of a jury as the prosecutor, nevermind having thousands of people watching and analyzing your every move.

There has been a lot of discussion about the defendant’s demeanor and appearance. What if the defendant was Albert Enstine, hum? Shouldn’t the prosecution discreetly make the point that appearance does not necessarily reflect mental capacity and that her IQ exceeds what is prescribed by law to qualify her for trail?

Dear trial watcher,

It’s unfortunate that you chose to deliver your criticism to all of us that use this forum with your blanket insults. Apparently you are the one here to make sure we simple observers do not fall to far astray from reality. Thank you oh mighty keeper of the truth. It seems as though possessing this glorious insight bestows upon the keeper other wonderful powers in addition to your noticeably keen observational abilities. I am dazzled by how you can criticize and insult, yet remain fair. It is absolutely astonishing really. Okay, I apologize to (almost) all of you, enough hot air.

Why would you join an otherwise adult forum conversation by scolding all of us in one shot for being too ignorant, unlike you, to know what is really going on with this trial? And to scold all of us concerning the pressures the poor prosecutor is going through because of the TV cameras! And trying to shove that lame crud wrapped as some kind of excuse or explanation. All I can say is “Wow!” I am going to give you some reverence here in case you truly are brilliant and I’m just too ignorant to recognize it, based mostly on your spelling and grammar, by conceding that you more than likely had a specific post or two in your sights and didn’t exactly mean to criticize all of us unenlightened observers. I’ve got to tell you though, when you write phrases such as “I think you all should lay off the prosecutor”, or “none of you know what it is like to be in front of a jury”, and of course the winner of the Hypocrite Award “It’s easy for each of you to be overly critical”. I love that one! Thank you.

Come on Mr. Watcher! None of us? Really? I’d be willing to bet the pressure the poor little prosecutor is feeling is the same pressure Mr. Natola, the court reporter, and the Judge are feeling. That poor Judge, he is expected to be right about every decision and doesn’t have the luxury of making an acceptable mistake. No wonder he is doing a brilliant job.  I would also that it is the same pressure that almost every single person that ever was in front of a camera probably went through. Give me a break! According to you she is the only one that gets to excuse her actions because of the pressure of the cameras. You’re joking, right?

Perhaps you can do us all a favor and reveal your experience in this subject. You made it clear that none of US “know what it is like to be in front of a jury as the prosecutor, nevermind having thousands of people watching and analyzing” our every move. As the enlightened one you must know what it’s like to be in front of a jury as the prosecutor, with thousands of people watching and analyzing your every move. So where did you gain this knowledge? You must have vast experience to see this when none of us could. Because someone would look like a complete idiot by making a statement such as the one you did with no experience of their own. How ignorant would someone appear if they did that? I can’t imagine how stupid it would be to make a statement like that with nothing more than an observation of their own to draw from.

I have seen defense attorneys "clean up" their clients for trial many times. WHY has the defense not done this with Kathleen Hilton? I guess because the crazier and more unkempt she looks, the more likely she'll be found "not guilty"?

Sorry, but I feel that maybe this woman shouldn't be sent to prison, but she SHOULD be locked up for a VERY long time, if not indefinitely!

When I watch her, I do get the feeling she's overdoing the acting a bit.

I don't feel for her. I feel for the family members of those she killed.

SHE IS INNOCENT!!!!!!!!! Noone has paid any attention to how she said she started the fire!!!!!!!! As a smoker for 25 years I dare anyone to pour oil on a ciggarrette and have is set a flame. Gasoline even puts one out!!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully the defense catches this!!!!!!!!

I, like all of you, have been watching Ms. Hilton very closely. I have no doubt that she is what I call "simple". I don't feel that she is crazy. I did wonder in the beginning but since the defense began it's case I am now convinced she is not crazy but an eccentric, simple minded person. The interviews with the doctors disturbs me because it appears as though he is trying to confuse her statements. She however corrects him when he states her answers incorrectly. I don't believe that she ever intended on burning down the house. I do believe her statement about removing evil spirits from the home. Yes it sounds a bit extreme but believe it or not evil spirits have been removed by smoke, prayer, etc., for centuries. I also think the defense has postponed her trial for so long simply as a manipulation. If he can convince the jury that she did not mean to do it or that she is crazy, the jury might acquit her based on the fact that this poor simple lady has been sitting in prison for 10-years and has already paid a price for something she didn't mean to do. I feel so terrible for the victim's family and regardless of a persons state of mind, mental competence, intelligence, the responsible party must pay a price. I also feel that if a person is "crazy" and they commit a crime, they of all people need to be put away because they do not have the ability to determine right from wrong and therefore are a terrible danger to society.

IF she is guilty, she is dangerous, simple minded or not. I would hope she wouldn't be put out on the street, but be put into a secured mental institution for the rest of her life. Nobody, not even herself would be safe if she were set free.

Kathleen may be simple minded or not it is hard to say but
I hope she gets the help she needs. as for her son someting is missing and a little red light goes off.

Nancy Mc

I just wanted to say that I was held as a detainee in MCI Framingham and I was Kathleen's cell mate. She constantly spoke of how she loved her children/grandchildren and they even vists from her family on visiting days. Personally, I would say that yes, she is in need of serious mental health care and will need it for the rest of her life, but I can't say that I would fear her. She would talk about various things that she was a witch, and that she chanted in "Indian" and told me that she beleived that someone else did it. I beleive that I was kind to her while I was there, I didn't know who or what about the story because I wasn't from that area, but I couldn't beleive how long she was detained there, at that time and just saw what was going on the other day when I saw the trial on tv. 10 yeaars of waiting trail...that's so long ago...I cannot believe that MA has gotten away with holding someone as a detainee that long without a "speedy trial"...What happened to her rights of that?

Were are all in the jail house snitches that always seems to magically appear, after all she has been incarcerated for 10 YEARS.

This lady has spent 10 years in jail! Where were her family? And where will she go if she is found not guilty? But if I had to judge her I would say not guilty! But she needs a doctor to commit her in a hospital! I know 5 people died and that is awfull but this women is sick. Her kids should be ashamed. They know she is sick and they haven't done anything to help her. This case is a shame! Sue from N.C.

Have you any information on the Phil Spector case.

The not guilty has come in and not a day too soon. The jury saw there was not enough evidence to convict this lady of any of the charges. Yes someone is guilty, but the lynch mob really needs to find the right person which the evidence will support. I understand that her daughter will be taking her in which anyone with a second thought would have picked this up when the daughter provided her with clothes. I truly believe our justice system has worked even though the ten years she spent in the womens prison is unreasonable. Since she was on disability before being incarcerated, will she be paid the back payments for the ten years that the system stopped the payments since she was found not guilty? Also her spirit guides don't contribute in any way to her mental problems. There are plenty of sane people paying big bucks for a meeting with psychic to talk with their loved ones that have crossed over. Spirit Guide is a common term in these circles. The rest of us have an affiliation with some religious order that support the same things. Kathleen is just innocent enough to talk openly about these things. I do hope she can get the mental health assistance to help her function better, but I hope that changing her personality is not the objective.

I am a person who suffers from bipolar and I believe that anyone who has a mental illness should not be allowed at all to own a gun. I think that is just helping that person to either commit suicide or murder. It is safer for us to not have guns.

I work w/ TBI tramatic brain injury clients for a living, I also lived w/ a TBI man for 9 years. The brain injury and aftermath of which is a tragedy for everyone involved. When a person w/ a TBI gets angry (which is very often) they esculate to the point they have NO control or idea what they're doing nor can they stop or be stopped once to that point. Just the fact she chose to take care of him and stay married to him after the injury is proof how much she loved him.She had no choice. Jeanne MN

Maybe in cases like this, the jurors should be mental health qualified. Until you have loved someone with a mental illness, most people can or will not understand this illness. I take such pity on this women. She is living in hell here on earth.