A motion to change a plea in the Alex Hribal case was denied yesterday in court.
Hribal is charged with stabbing twenty of his classmates and a school security officer in April of 2014 at the Franklin-Regional high school with two kitchen knives. He faces 21 counts each of attempted homicide and aggravated assault.
While Westmoreland County Judge Christopher Feliciani said that Hribal may have suffered from a “psychotic illness”, it did not in his opinion hamper his ability to distinguish right from wrong. Feliciani also stated that there was a certain amount of planning that went into the attack, saying that he was planning a “deliberate act, namely killing as many people as possible.” The judge also mentioned that statements Hribal made to mental health professionals were inconsistent.
Hribal’s attorney had asked for the change in plea because Hribal, if the plea was allowed, would be sent to a mental health facility for treatment, and if he improved, would go to a state correctional facility to serve the remainder of his sentence. Hribal will be tried as an adult. Pre-trial conferences have not been scheduled yet.
