Hospital Director to Fight Allaway’s Release

In a blow to Edward Allaway’s bid for freedom, the medical director at a state hospital where the Cal State Fullerton mass killer is housed has broken ranks with other doctors and now will fight his release.

Word of the director’s opposition comes as attorneys prepare for a courtroom showdown at which Allaway will ask a judge to order his release from Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino County.

Allaway, 62, was found not guilty by reason of insanity in a shooting rampage that left seven dead and two wounded in 1976 at the university library--Orange County’s deadliest act of violence.

He’s been held in state mental hospitals for nearly a quarter-century. But Patton doctors now believe Allaway’s mental illness is in remission and he should be freed from the lock-down facility.

Allaway’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender John Bovee, expressed unhappiness with the director’s stance but said he still believes his client has a strong case because of the testimony of the other doctors.

“I’m not aware of any clinician at Patton that is against his being released,” he said.

Medical director Sarla Gnanamuthu’s opinions are contained in court documents that were sealed by Superior Court Judge Frank F. Fasel. The director is concerned that Allaway has not agreed to be interviewed by state mental health officials, Bovee said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Wagner declined to comment on the director’s conclusion but said a rift in opinion about Allaway’s mental fitness would certainly be relevant in court.

“I think the evidence will show he’s mentally ill and still dangerous. That’s the way it’s shaping up and will come out in court,” he said.

Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer, who is organizing a community effort to oppose Allaway’s release, said he viewed the director’s opinions as a boost to his side but far from a total victory.

“Is it the linchpin of the case? No. But I think it’s significant,” Spitzer said.

Orange County judges have rejected Allaway’s three previous attempts to gain freedom. The support of Patton’s staff has made Allaway’s current request the most likely to succeed.

If Allaway is ordered released, he would be closely monitored for at least one full year before he could ask for unsupervised release.

Attorneys initially said they hoped to hold a hearing in April or May, but that no longer appears possible, they said. The delay is related to a dispute about prosecutors’ attempts to force Allaway into a deposition, Bovee said. Fasel asked both sides to try to resolve the issue before an April 13 appearance.