Michael Ballard
Michael Ballard
(Courtesy Photo)
A court hearing to establish Michael Ballard's competency to waive his appeal rights has been pushed back a month because a mental health report on the five-time killer will not be ready in time.
Northampton County Court officials said Ballard is now due to appear Nov. 17 instead of Oct. 14 before Judge Emil Giordano.
Ballard pleaded guilty in 2011 to murdering his ex-girlfriend Denise Merhi; her father, Denis Marsh; her grandfather Alvin Marsh, and Steven Zernhelt, a neighbor who rushed into Merhi's Northampton home after hearing screams inside. A jury sentenced him to death for each murder as part of a guilt-phase trial.
After the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld his death penalty sentence, Ballard said he would not contest his punishment. When public defender Marc Bookman filed a motion on his behalf in federal court, Ballard wrote the U.S. Supreme Court claiming Bookman was acting against his wishes; the high court authorized Pennsylvania officials to conduct a probe into Bookman and possible discipline against him.
Giordano ordered the mental health evaluation to determine if Ballard is of sufficiently sound mind to decide against appealing his sentence. Ballard himself opposed the evaluation in August to no avail.
"I understand the court's hesitancy to make the determination," Ballard said. "The reason I'm opposed to it is that it's not necessary. There is not a question as to my sanity."
Since then, Ballard has told The Morning Call that he intends to join a federal lawsuit challenging the drug cocktail Pennsylvania uses in its lethal injections. As of Tuesday afternoon, he had not filed any court documents to join that lawsuit. If he does join the case, he could request a judge grant a stay in his execution scheduled Dec. 2 until the litigation is resolved.