BY STEVE KEMME
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON -- A judge will decide next week whether the court should appoint and pay a psychologist for the defense of Franklin Saunders, who is accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend to death.
Mr. Saunders' attorneys say he is financially destitute and cannot afford one for his trial. The prosecution is challenging that contention.
Judge H.J. Bressler of Butler County Common Pleas Court agreed at a hearing Tuesday to give the defense a week to respond to the prosecution's objections. The hearing will be July 29.
Mr. Saunders, 39, of Blue Ash, is charged with aggravated murder, kidnapping and violating a previous court order not to possess weapons.
Police said he dragged Lisa Weber, 38, of Fairfield into his car June 9 and fatally shot her in woods off Muhlhauser Road in Butler County's Union Township. Mr. Saunders had been stalking her for several weeks, police said.
If convicted, Mr. Saunders could face the death penalty.
Before Tuesday's hearing began, Ms. Weber's 19-year-old son, Justin, placed a framed photograph of him and his mother on a jury box railing so that it faced Mr. Saunders. Justin and several other family members attended the hearing.
"We just wanted to let (Mr. Saunders) know that we're here and that she's here," he said. "We wanted to make him feel the pain we're feeling."
Mr. Saunders' attorneys submitted papers indicating that Judge Anthony Valen has frozen Mr. Saunders' benefits from his former employer. Judge Valen is handling a $1 million wrongful-death civil lawsuit filed by Ms. Weber's family against Mr. Saunders. But in a court memorandum, prosecutors say Mr. Saunders' lawyers have not provided enough evidence to show his finances are depleted. The prosecutors also say that even if he is indigent, he is not entitled to have a mitigation expert appointed and paid for by the court. If Mr. Saunders is convicted, a mitigation expert would testify onhis behalf in the sentencing phase of the trial.
