Former chaplain defends Brown's mental fitness

SANDPOINT - A chaplain at the Bonner County Jail is resigning his post in order to speak out on the mental competency of first-degree murder suspect Keith Allen Brown.

Brown was ordered last month into the custody of the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare after a judge found him unfit to proceed in his criminal trial because of questions about his ability to assist in his own defense.

The commitment order was requested by both the state and the defense.

Health & Welfare later submitted an amended commitment order seeking to transfer Brown's custody to a prison hospital operated by the Idaho Department of Correction. Health & Welfare concluded Brown fit the definition of being dangerously mentally ill.

The commitment orders have suspended criminal proceedings in Brown's case for at least six months.

But former jail chaplain Scott Herndon insists Brown is perfectly capable of assisting in his own defense and is quite sane.

"I'm not saying he's not guilty of murder one; I'm saying he deserves to go to trial," said Herndon, who sacrificed his ministry at the jail in order to weigh in on the matter of Brown's competency.

Herndon said he was warned by higher ups in the chaplain corps that speaking out on criminal matters involving Brown was grounds for dismissal. The directive was issued reportedly because of liability concerns.

But Herndon ultimately decided to give up his volunteer post in order to address what he considers a miscarriage of justice.

"When you spend an hour with him every week, you kind of get to know him," said Herndon, who describes Brown as a model inmate who has no access to his defense counsel and only learns of developments in his case through the judge's orders.

The reasons behind Brown's commitment are kept confidential. Documents concerning his mental health are filed under seal. Herndon maintains Brown has not been advised of the reasons for commitment.

"The thing is, he doesn't even know. They haven't even told him," he said.

Herndon said Brown's case has divided the chaplain corps, with about half of the 20 or so chaplains convinced Brown is being railroaded because he doesn't see eye-to-eye with his defense attorneys.

Prosecutors have painted Brown as a master manipulator, but Herndon does not share that viewpoint. Herndon said Brown has asked him to do favors and does not press the issue when he's turned down.

"If you tell him, 'no,' he won't bother you again," Herndon said. "He's a pretty normal guy."

Brown, 47, and his 25-year-old wife, Tyrah, are charged with first-degree murder and grand theft by possession of stolen property in connection with the fatal shooting of Leslie Carlton Breaw at Priest Lake.

Authorities allege Breaw, 48, was shot to death on Jan. 23, 2007. The Browns are also accused of forging a $56,000 escrow check.

Both suspects have pleaded not guilty in Breaw's slaying.