Cane Madden, the man who raped and attacked an 8-year-old Black girl, has been found mentally incompetent to stand trial. Unfortunately, in Kentucky, that is not enough to get this walking terror off of the streets.
This week, Circuit Court Judge Annie O’Connell found that Madden was not only not fit for trial but is also unlikely to regain competency any time soon, reported WDRB.
Madden has a gruesome history of violence, but he has never been held accountable for his actions because of Kentucky’s restrictive laws on involuntary hospitalization.
The man was briefly hospitalized at the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center in LaGrange, Kentucky, for the violent sexual assault of a woman in which he bit a “large chunk” out of her face, according to a 2019 dossier of Madden’s criminal history. While there, Madden wrote “I will kill her” in feces on the wall and said he wanted to rape and kill the first female he saw once he was released.
Within 24 hours of his release, he brutally raped and assaulted the little girl. Even more atrocious, Madden cracked the girl’s skull with a shovel. The attack took place in a predominantly Black neighborhood within Louisville.
But, lack of evidence is not why Madden again escaped incarceration or institutionalization for his 2019 crime. Kentucky law concerning the involuntary commitment of offenders is archaic and useless.
The judge in Madden’s case applied the Kentucky standard of involuntary hospitalization to his case and found that Madden was again able to walk free.
The state’s involuntary hospitalization criteria include a disturbing twist. If a person fails on any one of the criteria, they are required to be released. Madden cannot be legally confined because it is believed that he will not benefit from treatment. In Kentucky, this means that the offenders who are the least likely to be able to be rehabilitated remain free.
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“It’s a crazy loophole,” said Hardin Commonwealth’s Attorney Shane Young. “It’s nuts. If the legislature doesn’t do something about this, there is going to be more people get hurt.” Youg continued, “It’s every prosecutor’s nightmare because you know this person’s dangerous. You know this person’s going to do it again. A lot of these individuals indicate they’re going to do something like this again.”
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Emily Lantz told Judge O’Connell in Madden’s incompetency hearing that despite several hospital stays, a reason is found to release Madden each time. “He’s not kept very long at all, whether they find he is not a danger to himself or they find there is nothing that can be done to have him benefit from the treatment,” she said.
Dr. Timothy Allen, a psychiatrist who evaluated Madden, concluded that Madden’s IQ is high enough to stand trial. The psychiatrist for Madden’s defense disagreed and said Madden has a long list of mental disorders that make his impulse control and decision-making skills akin to “pin the tail on the donkey,” reported WDRB.
Meanwhile, a neighborhood is left with its very own version of a horror movie psychopath. “He has a revolving door when he goes to court,” said Yolanda Walker, with the California Neighborhood Leadership Council.
A confidential hearing on the state’s petition to have Madden committed was scheduled for last week.
