A San Jose man, who has been incarcerated in a state hospital
for sexual predators after being convicted of attempting to abduct
a 5-year-old Hollister girl, is asking that a local jury decide
whether he is ready to be released into society.
Hollister – A San Jose man, who has been incarcerated in a state hospital for sexual predators after being convicted of attempting to abduct a 5-year-old Hollister girl, is asking that a local jury decide whether he is ready to be released into society.
Lance Purcell, 58, had been enrolled in the sexually violent predator treatment program at Atascadero State Hospital in San Luis Obispo County for three years and was recently transferred to a similar hospital in Coalinga, his attorney George Barton said Tuesday.
In 1994, Purcell was convicted for attempting to kidnap a 5-year-old girl from in front of her home on Sunnyslope Road. Purcell was sentenced to 16 years in state prison because of his multiple prior convictions which include, rape, molestation and assault with a deadly weapon in Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties dating back to the 1960s.
Under the sexual predator program, a jury can evaluate offenders every two years and determine whether they meet the criteria to be released back into society. Prisoners have the right to a jury trial, but can waive that right if they choose. If a prisoner is found to have qualifying prior convictions, is diagnosed with a mental disorder and is likely to commit violent sexual crimes, the law states that he should not be released.
Barton will appear in San Benito County court today to set a date for a hearing because Purcell’s last crime was committed in Hollister. If a judge rules probable cause exists to show that Purcell is ready to be released, the case will go to a jury. Purcell would be released to San Jose, where he would live with his mother, Barton said.
Barton, who expects a jury hearing in July, is confident that Purcell has been rehabilitated.
“Treatment and advanced age have shown that he no longer suffers from the mental condition that would make him a danger to society,” Barton said. “I’ve known Lance Purcell for five years and I’ve read all the physiological reports – there is nothing there that would lead me to believe that this man is going to commit any new offense.”
Hollister Police Captain Bob Brooks is not so sure. Although he hasn’t read all of Purcell’s evaluations, Brooks believes it is too dangerous to let Purcell out of the hospital.
“Historically speaking, predators don’t have a real good track record,” he said Tuesday. “I hope people look at this seriously. In a case like this, there can’t be any doubt – I mean he tried to kidnap a little girl.”
Brooks remembers the local kidnapping case and hopes Purcell is not released.
“He thought this thing out, he definitely didn’t do this on a whim and he knew what he did was wrong,” Brooks said. “Those people don’t need to be in society. They’re not normal and you can’t treat them normal.”
Barton disagrees and said Purcell is no longer a danger.
“I would invite him over to my own house for dinner,” he said. “(Purcell) has friends on the outside that would help him. He will continue treatment and wants to work with other sexual predators. He wants to use the experience he has to help others in anyway he can.”
If released, Purcell would not be supervised, but would be required to register as a sex offender, Barton said.
A jury would have to unanimously conclude that Purcell continues to suffer from a mental condition in order to keep him in a state hospital, Barton said. In 2004, the last time Purcell was up for reevaluation, a jury recommitted him to treatment at a state hospital.
District Attorney John Sarsfield, who the filed the petition to keep Purcell in jail, did not return phone calls on Tuesday.
Brett Rowland covers education for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
