Cleveland's Accused Serial Killer Pleads Insanity

Anthony Sowell is charged with killing 11 women
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 3, 2009 2:23 PM CST
Cleveland's Accused Serial Killer Pleads Insanity
Anthony Sowell is seen during his arraignment for rape, kidnapping, attempted murder and felonious assault charges in Cleveland, Nov. 13, 2009.   (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)

Alleged serial killer Anthony Sowell pleaded insanity this morning as he was arraigned by video in the deaths of 11 women and assaults on three others in Cleveland. Sowell, 50, looked calmly into the camera, offering only brief polite responses as the judge read his rights and plea. Sowell will have to demonstrate that he can't differentiate between right and wrong, and prove that he has a mental illness, to avoid the death penalty.

An assistant prosecutor tells the Cleveland Plain-Dealer that he’s confident Sowell won't be able to do either, since there’s nothing in his background indicating mental illness. “Quite frankly, he’s a psychopath,” he said. (More Anthony Sowell stories.)

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