Supreme Court Won’t Hear Accused Kidnapper’s Forcible Medication Appeal

U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court Won’t Hear Accused Kidnapper’s Forcible Medication Appeal

Posted May 22, 2008, 07:52 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss

An accused kidnapper will be forcibly medicated to make her competent to stand trial after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear her case this week.

The defendant, Wanda Barzee, is accused along with her husband of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart from her home in Salt Lake City at the age of 14, the Associated Press reports. Barzee has been hospitalized since 2004 when she was found incompetent to stand trial.

The court denied Barzee’s petition on Monday, ABC4 reports.

Doctors say Barzee believes she receives messages from God through her television.

Smart, who is now 20, contributed to a government survival guide for kidnapping victims, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.