Judge James Fitzgerald started Robert Hansen’s sentencing hearing with no illusions. He had heard from all the witnesses in the preliminary round. They left him with no doubts. “I believe,” he told Hansen, “you are guilty.” And, Fitzgerald added, that included his guilt in the Patty Roberts case. There was no question he faced serious charges: up to ten years in jail. Still, he reminded Hansen, it was necessary for the State to prove his guilt. It was here that Hansen had an ace in the hole. His character witnesses.
“I have to make up my own mind,” Hansen told the judge. It didn’t take long. The choreography was already in place. He withdrew his plea of not guilty. There were no threats or promises made, he said. That set the stage for a small parade of witnesses testifying on Bob Hansen’s behalf.
Shrink Speaks
First up was J. Ray Langdon, the psychiatrist who’d examined Hansen at Langdon Clinic. Langdon was quick to point out that Hansen had a previous psychological workup in 1961. Something about a bus barn arson in Iowa. Even with that, the doctor was cautious about asserting Hansen had a mental disease. He thought it might be social. More ominously, Langdon said Hansen exhibited a schizophrenic condition with compulsive actions. As evidence of that last bit, Dr. Langdon pointed out that Hansen had walked onto a Army firing range during basic training.
Langdon recommended Hansen be placed under close supervision for a “long period of time,” by which he meant two or three years. He also recommended psychiatric consultations, “once or twice a week.” So there was that.
Work In Community
Next up was Hansen’s small parade of character witnesses. They started with Gerald Goldschmidt, a public health sanitarian. He knew Bob from church, he said, and through various activities, like hunting, fishing and camping. Goldschmidt told the judge he thought Bob should “work in the community and obtain psychotherapy.”
And then there was Bob’s friend John Sumrall — a man who would play a crucial role multiple times in this drama. Sumrall’s title alone was a checkmark in Hansen’s plus column. John Sumrall, District Manager, Equitable Life Insurance. As far as character witnesses go, this was the best of the best.
“I’m a good friend of Bob’s,” Sumrall said. “I think he should be permitted to return to the community.”
I Fear A Tragedy
Judge Fitzgerald sentenced Bob Hansen to five years incarceration. He was eligible for parole, he said, at the discretion of the parole board. Fitzgerald also recommended psychotherapy. And that Hansen be placed in a work release program.
But the judge was not completely comforted by the man sitting in front of him – or the words of his character witnesses. “If Bob Hansen does not continue treatment,” he solemnly intoned, “I fear there may be a tragedy.”
Copyright Leland E. Hale (2020). All rights reserved.
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