coney girl
Friday, September 18, 2009 7:49:27 AM
Just saw this shocker on the NY Times AP wire. The fair is the Spokane Interstate Fair

September 18, 2009
Insane Killer Escapes on Field Trip to County Fair
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 12:01 p.m. ET

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- Authorities have put out a statewide alert for a mentally ill killer who escaped during a hospital field trip to a county fair, leading to fears that he'll become more unstable and potentially dangerous the longer he is on the loose with no medication.

Sgt. Dave Reagan of the Spokane County sheriff's office says Phillip Arnold Paul remained at large Friday and officials believe he's headed to Sunnyside, the town where his parents live. Anyone spotting him should call 911 and not try to confront him.

Paul was committed after he was acquitted by reason of insanity in the 1987 slaying of an elderly woman in Sunnyside. He soaked the woman's body in gasoline to throw off search dogs and buried the remains in her flower garden. He reportedly said voices in his head told him she was a witch.

He was caught trying to escape four years later, only to knock a deputy unconscious in the booking area following his arrest.

The 57-year-old Paul escaped Thursday during a supervised outing to the Spokane County Interstate Fair for patients from Eastern State Hospital. Thirty-one patients from the mental hospital were on the trip with 11 staff members.

Local officials and fairgoers said they were stunned that mental patients, including at least one with a criminal past, would be taken to the fair.

''I think it's wrong, it's totally wrong,'' said Jennifer Craig, who was visiting the fair with her husband and grandchildren. ''You're putting too many kids and old disabled people like me at risk.''

Patients must be cleared by a treatment team of six to 12 clinicians according to an extensive checklist before they can go on field trips to stores, parks, ball games, fairs and other sites, said hospital spokesman Jim Stevenson said. They wear street clothing and need not all stay together, but staff members are required to keep each patient within eyesight at all times.

''They have gone to the county fair in past years,'' said hospital spokesman Jim Stevenson.

Hospital CEO Harold E. Wilson told The Spokesman-Review Paul had been ''a fairly model patient.''

The escape led state Department of Social and Health Services Secretary Susan Dreyfus to order an indefinite halt to all outings involving criminally committed patients at the state's three mental institutions.

Dreyfus also instructed Eastern State to review the policy on patient outings and a plan to prevent similar problems.

''It's outrageous that security was so inept that a guy who's officially regarded as criminally insane was able to just slip away from the group,'' state Rep. Matt Shea of Spokane Valley told The Spokesman-Review.

It was the second escape for Paul. In 1991, he walked away from custody during a day trip in Medical Lake and was captured at Fishtrap on the western Spokane County line. He attacked a sheriff's deputy in the jail booking area, knocking him unconscious and separating his shoulder, and was convicted of first-degree escape and second-degree assault.

Paul, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, was acquitted by reason of insanity after the 1987 killing and committed to Eastern State Hospital indefinitely.

Hospital officials told authorities that Paul hadn't exhibited violent behavior in years. They argued in the past that he should be released, but his petition for release was rejected in 2003.

He was described as 5-foot-8 and 207 pounds with brown hair and a goatee, was wearing blue jeans and a red windbreaker over a blue T-shirt.

http://www.nytimes.com/a...-Institution-Escape.html 

Amusing the Zillion
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BIG L
Friday, September 18, 2009 10:31:55 AM
Did they look in the bunkhouse? How do you even come up with the idea of taking them people to the fair? That's why there in those places now because they can't be in society. Duh! Isn't that a clue not to take them. It would be like taking an armed robber into a jewelry store for a field trip. There's just one reason why people should use their brain these days.
Looking for strong route to book a
1 man ticket box. 😛
korny_carny
Friday, September 18, 2009 11:33:36 AM
Quote:

quote:


Originally posted by BIG L

Did they look in the bunkhouse? How do you even come up with the idea of taking them people to the fair? That's why there in those places now because they can't be in society. Duh! Isn't that a clue not to take them. It would be like taking an armed robber into a jewelry store for a field trip. There's just one reason why people should use their brain these days.



Agreed, why on earth would an insane killer be in public, wow.
Sue
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Friday, September 18, 2009 12:28:04 PM
why someone like him (a crazy murderer) is allowed ANY field trip! is beyond belief. He should never leave the walls of the insane asylum except to go to his own death.
And I bet we taxpayers paid for his little fun trip!! The persons who decided he was able to go should be fired, and sued by the family of the murdered woman.
I have no sympathy for criminals - he should have been fried years ago and we wouldn't be paying for his keep. He is not a member of society. I am liberal about a lot of things but not criminals.
I believe in the death penalty and he should have gotten it. Why not give it to him when he is found? Or maybe law enforcement will shoot him while he is out on his little vacation.
BIG L
Friday, September 18, 2009 12:58:10 PM
All in favor say "I"
Looking for strong route to book a
1 man ticket box. 😛
GACC
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Friday, September 18, 2009 1:19:59 PM
nitelife222
Friday, September 18, 2009 1:57:17 PM
bigjlh
Friday, September 18, 2009 2:03:34 PM
new twist as far as background checks and they are worried about show folks get real
nitelife222
Friday, September 18, 2009 2:45:05 PM
Its going to be on the 10 o'clock news in Oklahoma.
Hula_Honey
Friday, September 18, 2009 4:23:53 PM
Unbelievable. How much more $ is going to go out looking for this guy? And we wonder why the economy is in trouble. Keep it posted when they find this guy.
42WLA
  •  42WLA
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  • Ride Supervisor
Friday, September 18, 2009 5:01:08 PM
Washington State?? What the Hell are they thinking?? What a bunch of bleeding heart Liberals!!
I have done so much,with so little,for so long,I am now qualified to do anything with nothing!
BIG L
Friday, September 18, 2009 5:24:30 PM
More I think about it the more it irritates me. There are so many things in life that are preventable. This story has to be the number one example.
Looking for strong route to book a
1 man ticket box. 😛
Bowler Roller
Saturday, September 19, 2009 7:10:18 AM
I read a different story where they justified letting him out because he was getting better, and very rarely talked to his imaginary friends, Harry and Skibooboo.

Seriously though, I certainly hope they they don't subject carnival employees to back ground checks at that fair.
Every crowd has a silver lining - PT Barnum
coney girl
Saturday, September 19, 2009 7:40:02 AM
It's deeply disturbing and incongruous to see the phrase "insane killer" in the same headline as "field trip" and "county fair." It does grab one's attention, too. I mean the NY Times had it on the homepage of their web site when it came across the wire and we're clear across the country! I hope the fair hasn't had a drop in attendance because of the scare.
Amusing the Zillion
A former carny kid casts an insider’s eye on the amusement business, Coney Island, and fun places in between
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coney girl
Saturday, September 19, 2009 8:11:49 AM
just found this...hasn't hurt attendance, but hasn't helped either

Fair officials say theyll pre-screen future group visits
Jody Lawrence-Turner / The Spokesman-Review

Tags: Phillip Arnold Paul

A killer escaping a field trip to the Spokane County Interstate Fair has not affected attendance, but it was a wakeup call for fair officials, who say they plan to change policies for visiting groups.

Although Eastern State Hospital purchased a block of tickets for a group visit, as it has in the past, fair officials weren’t told anything about the 31 patients who would be visiting, said Rich Hartzell, fair director. “If we had, the answer would have been no,” he said.

By working with the fair board and Spokane County Commissioners, the fair director hopes to come up with a policy that will provide relevant information without being discriminatory.

Fair officials want groups to go through an application process. The documents would ask about mental illnesses, types of disabilities and criminal acts.

“We will be putting restrictions on any group who have people who are considered a risk,” Hartzell said. “If a person has committed violent criminal acts, the answer will be a ‘no.’”

Meanwhile, the fair is entering its final two days, and continued success is expected.

“Everything considered, we are feeling we are doing pretty well,” Hartzell said. If you throw out 2008’s free day, which brought record numbers, “it’s actually very close to last year’s attendance through yesterday.”

The fair broke records this year in pre-fair group sales, which also helped attendance numbers, said Erin Gurtel, fair marketing director. Fair officials have been assured by law enforcement that there’s “no way” Paul is still on the fairgrounds. Said Hartzell, “our security and law enforcement have done thorough searches including looking inside the cars. They continue to search. Security will be heightened and on alert until he’s in custody.

“I would hope that people would realize that safety is of a primary concern to us,” he said.

Attendance Thursday – following Paul’s escape – was down by 1,000, Hartzell added. If it hadn’t been for that incident, “we probably would have been up.”
http://www.spokesman.com...or-say-grounds-are-safe/ 



Amusing the Zillion
A former carny kid casts an insider’s eye on the amusement business, Coney Island, and fun places in between
http://amusingthezillion.com/ 
http://twitter.com/AmusingZillion