Christian radio station listener tries to free killer

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: 'During Thursday's court hearing, Taylor himself questioned several of his character witnesses. He laughed and smiled while talking to the witnesses. : Jerome Hochhausen of Madison testified he and Taylor met after Taylor called a Christian radio station looking for someone to visit him, and Hochhausen ended up building a stand for Taylor's music equipment. : Taylor even visited Hochhausen's home during an annual visit Taylor was allowed.' : More... : ------- : Judge denies Wisconsin killer's request for release from mental facility : By Pamela Powers : Eau Claire Leader-Telegram : Updated: 05/21/2010 09:34:15 AM CDT : Family members of a man murdered by Alvin Taylor expressed relief Thursday when a Dunn County Judge refused Taylor's request for a conditional release from Mendota Mental Health Institute in Madison. : "We are again very glad that Alvin is where he belongs," said Tammy Schneider of Colfax, Timothy Hayden's twin sister. : Schneider said seeing Taylor was very difficult and that she was very emotional when her brother's murder was talked about in court. : Nancy Dickey of Hudson, Hayden's oldest sister, said she was confident no judge or jury ever would release Taylor. : "He will always be a threat to society," Dickey said. "I have no doubt he will be at Mendota the rest of his life. He can reapply but it will be the same result." : Dickey said Taylor, 63, had changed very little in the 22 years since he was sent to Mendota, on the basis having a mental disease or defect, following the slaying of four people. : "He's a little older, of course," Dickey said Thursday. "He looked exactly the same. He still had that look about him. I think it's a look of evil. He has no emotion. He doesn't look around or look at other people." : Judge Bill Stewart ruled Thursday that based on the evidence he had heard, Taylor still posed a risk to himself and others. : "The bottom line is there is clear and sufficient evidence you do have a delusional disorder," Stewart said. : Taylor, who was a traveling nightclub singer, admitted to the 1987 gunshot slaying of Hayden, : 27, of Menomonie; the 1988 stabbing death of James Severson, 42, of Eau Claire; the 1986 shooting death of Daniel Lundgren, 33, of West Bend; and the 1985 gunshot slaying of Robert Williams, 38, of Eau Claire. He also pleaded no contest to attempted murder of a West Bend man in 1986 and received a 20-year prison sentence. : Stewart did commend Taylor for the thousands of hours of therapy he had completed while at Mendota and noted Taylor obviously had made progress over the years, but it was not sufficient for release. : After the ruling, Dunn County District Attorney James Peterson said Taylor's case is serious and keeping the community safe is paramount. : Much of the testimony centered on Taylor wanting to have more privileges within minimum security status at Mendota, such as community visits he had been allowed in the past to malls and restaurants in the Madison area. He had signed an agreement not to seek community visits for a year last fall after he was returned to minimum security from medium security. : "Part of his illness is feeling staff at Mendota is slighting him and not treating him fairly," Peterson said. : During Thursday's court hearing, Taylor himself questioned several of his character witnesses. He laughed and smiled while talking to the witnesses. : Jerome Hochhausen of Madison testified he and Taylor met after Taylor called a Christian radio station looking for someone to visit him, and Hochhausen ended up building a stand for Taylor's music equipment. : Taylor even visited Hochhausen's home during an annual visit Taylor was allowed. : Judith Lipp of Fond du Lac, an ordained minister with the Church of the Nazarene, testified when she first met Taylor he was distrustful. : "You were very guarded in how you reacted to things," she told Taylor during court. "Over the years I've seen a dramatic change in the level of trust you show. You're very open and have always been very honest." : Richard Russo of Monona said he met Taylor by teaching meditation at Mendota each month. : He noted that Taylor makes an effort to see God in others and learn something. : During court testimony, Kent Berney, psychology director for the Winnebago Mental Health Institute in Oshkosh, was called by public defender John Kucinski for Taylor. : However, Berney said he did not believe Taylor qualified for conditional release. : He did recommend Taylor be given more privileges to test how he handles the change. : Nearly a half-dozen psychiatrists and psychologists testified on behalf of the state that Taylor suffered from a delusional disorder and should not be released from Mendota. : "There is an ongoing potential for distorted thinking processes," Mendota psychologist James LeClair said. : LeClair said a letter was sent to the court from six members of Mendota's staff who work with Taylor. Usually those letters are neutral, but in this case it urged the court not to release Taylor. : Dr. Tammy Pierner, a psychiatrist at Mendota, said even though Taylor has refused to take medications now and says he no longer is mentally ill, she does not believe he is competent to refuse medical treatment. Staff in the future may petition the court to require Taylor to take antipsychotic drugs. : Taylor could reapply for a conditional release in as few as six months, Peterson noted.

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