Colorado Court of Appeals upholds lower court ruling that Robert Dear can be forcibly medicated

The Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of the district court’s order authorizing the staff at the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (CMHIP) to forcibly medicate the Planned Parenthood shooter in hopes of restoring him to competency to stand trial.

Robert Dear tried to appeal the district court’s order, arguing that the People failed to establish the legal requirements for involuntary administration of medications.

Dear faces 179 felony counts for the mass shooting at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs on November 27, 2015. Dear is accused of shooting and wounding numerous people and killing three.

In previous hearings, Dear has been found incompetent for trial and has been diagnosed with severe delusional disorder. For more than 20 years, Dear has believed that federal government agents are involved in a conspiracy against him, and the staff at CMHIP are a part of that conspiracy. He has been refusing to take medications at the facility.

Dear could appeal Thursday’s ruling to the Supreme Court.