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Parish’s attorney not laying groundwork for incompetency, insanity defense in fraud case
By Dan McCue
Staff Writer
Local economist Al Parish’s defense attorney, Andrew John Savage, said he plans to meet with investigators working on the government’s fraud case involving his client asking them to allow psychological testing to be conducted in Charleston rather than sending Parish to an out-of-state federal prison.
Savage said he’s not trying to lay the groundwork for a defense based on a lack of mental competence or insanity, but rather wants to “learn what makes Parish tick before I take a chance and further exacerbate his condition.”
Savage first met with Parish and the former Charleston Southern University professor’s family on April 7, two days after the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission filed civil charges against the economist.
The Department of Justice subsequently filed a criminal complaint against Parish, accusing him of lying to the SEC, and additional criminal charges may be forthcoming.
Savage said at their first and subsequent meetings, Parish’s communication skills were “appropriate,” but that he still appeared to be in the throes of the amnesia that sent him to the hospital hours after he helped deliver the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce’s annual economic forecast in late March.
Savage has never said the amnesia itself would be used as Parish’s defense as the case moves through the legal system. In fact, he said, “I don’t know if (amnesia) ever rises to the level of a legitimate defense.”
It does, however, complicate Parish’s defense, he said.
“My client is fully cognizant of what he’s accused of, is concerned about it and about why he is currently sitting in the Charleston County Detention Center, but I’ve purposefully avoided talking to him about specifics of the accusations, because if this amnesia is triggered by stress, I don’t want to take a chance of making it worse or more profound,” Savage said.
“I also don’t want to taint any subsequent medical evaluation he may undergo by planting information he can’t recall for himself in his mind.”
For the time being, Savage said, Parish’s problems are “pretty much contained,” and the economist will remain behind bars with no impending effort to be made to seek a reconsideration of the court’s denial of bond.
“Given the nature of his reported complaint—amnesia—my client was lined up for a clinical psychological exam, the protocol for which is pretty extensive,” Savage said. “They have to conduct a battery of tests on my client, evaluate his family history of emotional issues and also talk to people who observed him in the days leading up to his memory loss.”
Given that much about Parish’s mental state remains an unknown, Savage is concerned that federal authorities themselves will push to determine his competency to stand trial, perhaps having him transferred to a federal facility in Buttner, N.C., or Miami for evaluation.
“I think it’s really premature and I’m not going to be pushed into that,” Savage said. “I’d much rather step back, allow the waters time to stop roiling and then consult with medical personnel at MUSC to see if his evaluation can continue at the county jail or whether he’d have to be transported back and forth to MUSC by federal marshals,” Savage said.
“Once I make that determination, then I can talk with the receiver and Department of Justice and see what we can arrange. I really don’t think it would benefit anybody to send Al Parish off to another federal facility for three or four months. If that happened, there’s no way he could participate in his own defense or help authorities locate items or monies that may be missing.”
If, and only if, Parish received a clean bill of mental health after such an examination, would another application be made for bond, Savage said.
Dan McCue is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dmccue@charlestonbusiness.com.
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