The judge in the UT stabbing case pretrial denied the prosecutors’ second request for a mental health evaluation of murder defendant Kendrex White on Thursday.
In July, White was indicted on first-degree murder charge and three counts of aggravated assault by a Travis County grand jury in connection with the May 1 UT campus stabbing attack. UT student Harrison Brown was killed, and three others were injured in the incident.
White’s defense team said in a statement prosecutors do not have any grounds to evaluate White since they have not raised a sanity defense yet. Two doctors found White competent to stand trial in June. His motion to be tested for insanity was denied in June as well.
According to state law, if the defense counsel plans to raise sanity as a defense, they must notify the prosecution within 20 days of trial. No trial date has been set.
Harrison Brown’s mother, Lori Brown, and one of the stabbing victims, Stuart Bayliss, attended the hearing.
“I want to do something more about it in the future and his remembrance. For me right now it’s just living and being there for Harrison and representing his life,” Bayliss said in an interview with TCWNews.
Alejandrina Guzman, UT student body president, said in an interview with KXAN that in an effort to make sure another attack like this does not happen again, progress has been made for better communication and mental health resources for students.
“We’ve done a lot of good work, and the collaboration hasn’t stopped,” Guzman said in the interview with KXAN. “The administration has been working very closely with us to make sure that all students feel welcome and safe on campus.”
Guzman said later in the interview with KXAN that the goal is if better resources are available, future tragedies will be prevented.
“Harrison Brown won’t be forgotten. He lives in our hearts. He lives in my heart,” Guzman said in the interview with KXAN. “We’re all Longhorns together. We’re here. We’re not alone, in that if anybody has anything that they’re going through, a situation, (we want them) to reach out.”
