THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, July 29, 1995                TAG: 9507290303
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST 
DATELINE: DEDHAM, MASS.                      LENGTH: Medium:   52 lines

SALVI AGAIN DISRUPTS PROCEEDINGS HIS COMPETENCY HEARING IS CONTINUED WITHOUT A FINDING UNTIL NEXT MONTH.

After listening to lawyers argue over whether he is mentally competent to stand trial for murder, alleged abortion clinic shooter John C. Salvi III disrupted proceedings again Friday, asking to speak and then going limp in court.

Salvi was carried from the courtroom, placed in a nearby lockup and then returned to the Norfolk County prison, where he is being held without bail pending a decision on his mental status.

Superior Court Judge Barbara Dortch-Okara made no immediate finding on Salvi's mental status. The competency hearing, which must be completed before Salvi can be tried, was continued without a finding until next month.

Salvi, 22, an apprentice hairdresser from Hampton, N.H., is charged with opening fire at two women's health clinics in nearby Brookline last Dec. 30, killing Shannon Lowney and Lee Ann Nichols. Authorities also charge that Salvi wounded five other people, then fled. He was arrested the next day in Norfolk, Va., after allegedly firing at the Hillcrest Clinic there.

Salvi insists that he is sane and wants to proceed to trial. But his court-appointed attorney, J.W. Carney Jr., said Salvi is not cooperating, and he asked the court to decide Salvi's competency.

Attorney John LaChance, appointed by the judge to argue that Salvi is incompetent, said Salvi has been unable to provide the defense with an account of his actions on Dec. 30. LaChance said Salvi has a mental disorder that impairs his ability to recognize his peril and mount an effective defense. He cited Salvi's many bizarre statements about a global conspiracy against Catholics.

Assistant District Attorney John Kivlan said Salvi had no history of mental illness and executed ``extraordinary planning'' before the shootings by assembling weapons, ammunition and maps.

At the end of the hearing, Salvi, wearing handcuffs, shackles and a bulletproof vest, rose from his seat. ``Your honor, I'd like to say something,'' he began, but the judge cut him off.

After briefly struggling with court officers, Salvi went limp. As he was being carried out, he said, ``I have no criminal record, in Massachusetts or Florida, juvenile or adult. I don't even have a driving record. Ha, ha, ha.'' ILLUSTRATION: Salvi

KEYWORDS: ABORTION CLINIC SHOOTINGS by CNB