Lawyer blasts plan to hold Alaska defendant out of state

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) –
The state of Alaska is involved in a legal dispute over its plan to transfer a manslaughter defendant to a hospital in another state because officials say he is too dangerous. The Anchorage Daily News reported an attorney for 24-year-old Duop Tharjiath has asked a judge to halt the proposed move from the Alaska Psychiatric Institute to a South Carolina facility. The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services argues Tharjiath has a history of extreme violence. Tharjiath’s attorney says the move is unnecessary and inhumane. Tharjiath was charged with killing a woman when he struck two people with a car.