On Thursday, January 16th, Luke Wenke had a status conference at the Robert H. Jackson federal courthouse in Buffalo, New York. The following update appeared on the docket sheet afterward:

 

 
I’m not a legal expert, so please don’t bank on my opinions or thoughts. But according to the U.S. Department of Justice:

“Section 4244 of Title 18 provides a sentencing option for convicted defendants who need care or treatment at a ‘suitable facility’ for mental disease/defect. After a hearing, a convicted defendant found to be in need of treatment is to be committed to the custody of the Attorney General for treatment. “

In the event that a defendant is institutionalised,

“This commitment constitutes a provisional sentence for the maximum term authorized for the offense. If the defendant recovers before this term expires, the court is to proceed to final sentencing, and may modify the provisional sentence.”

I interpret this to mean that even if a defendant is ordered to undergo inpatient treatment, it doesn’t automatically mean that criminal accountability goes out the window. I at least really hope this is the case. In fact, the one thing that Wenke and I agree on is that he’s competent, albeit for vastly different reasons. He doesn’t think he’s mentally ill, while I believe he deserves to be held properly accountable for his actions despite being mentally ill.

 

Throughout this case, many people have said to me, “I hope Luke gets the help he needs,” which I think is one of the most ignorant things you can say to a stalking victim. While many victims probably want their stalker to get help, many feel differently, and I fall into the latter category.

 

I personally don’t care whether Wenke is healed from his self-inflicted torment. Not only do I think he’s a lost cause, I care about the safety of myself, other victims, and society in general, NOT his comfort or wellbeing. No one should expect me to care about his feelings or health. This guy has turned my life upside-down and trapped me in a fucking purgatory-like existence because I can’t escape his bullshit. I don’t actively wish terrible things upon him, but at this point, I do not owe it to him or anyone else to care about his comfort or wellbeing.

 

I think Wenke acts 100 percent deliberately, coherently and with malice. He very clearly intends to harm people’s lives by causing things like job loss, damage to their reputation, and interpersonal strife.  Wenke understands the difference between right and wrong and knowingly commits wrong. Just my opinion, of course.

 

What happens next?

 

Someone involved in the case told me that “decisions will be made” during this upcoming hearing. But I’m not holding my breath, because this isn’t the first time the authorities have seemed confident that the case would be over after the next hearing. Actually, at this point, I’ll be very surprised if the judge doesn’t order yet another psychiatric evaluation. Because that’s usually what seems to happen whenever an evaluation is finished, and the results are filed and sealed.

 

Wenke has been undergoing mental assessments for a year (I think he just underwent his fourth), and it always seems like the court wants another opinion. It seems, to me, like they don’t know what to do with him. And while I’m certainly thankful that Wenke is still in custody, the waiting game and the uncertainty that comes with it aren’t the vacation from him that people envision.

 

At this point, I’d feel more comfortable with Wenke being released on probation and an ankle monitor than institutionalised. Yes, I’d worry constantly about him tampering with it and the feds failing to notice in a timely fashion, but I’ve read about criminal cases where mentally ill defendants’ charges were dropped after they failed to show signs of progress for years, earning them the distinction of being “unrestorable.” Then, they magically became “better” and were released with little to no supervision or effective measures in place to stop them from reoffending.

 

In the long run, I suspect this scenario would be infinitely more damaging than probation.

 

Why else am I against institutionalising Luke Wenke?

 

For one, it reduces perceived accountability even if a legal conviction stands. Even without entertaining a worst-case scenario, I believe that a mental health-related ruling would have the [perhaps unintended] effect of conveying that Luke Wenke didn’t do anything wrong because he doesn’t know any better. And he absolutely God damn fucking does know better. No one will ever convince me any different, because I’ve dealt with his evil personally and firsthand.
 
Wenke has already tried playing on this concept, which only means he’ll take it and run with it if given the greenlight. In a letter he sent to the court in September, he wrote:

“Oh all the sudden during this violation I’m ‘incompetent’, then I guess the guilty plea from Oct. 2023 isn’t valid. I guess I’m not competent enough to remember signing anything in court.”

I think Wenke is a toxic scourge who will always inflict maximum damage within the parameters that life allots to him at any given time. He’s found ways to terrorise me from jail and prison. Mental hospitals are far less secure, and I have zero trust in the mental healthcare system’s ability to prevent catastrophe. After all, America has a piss-poor track record for heeding the glaringly obvious red flags when it comes to preventing certain types of tragedies and crimes.

 

Even if Wenke is institutionalised, it appears as though he has a right to challenge the ruling, and I have a distinct feeling he would. As the saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but…yeah. He’s been led to water many, many times. What good will forcing him to drink it do?

 

Furthermore, Wenke has made it abundantly clear that he will NOT comply willingly with psychiatric treatment. I think it’s naïve to hope that he has a eureka moment, realises there’s something profoundly wrong with himself, and becomes cooperative.

 

Here are some examples (not including his many social media posts) reflecting Wenke’s outright resistance to mental treatment. And while I understand that in some cases, forced treatment is necessary, I see it as completely pointless in this case. Not everyone can be saved, and jail/prison will unfortunately be a lifelong reality for some folks who simply refuse to help themselves and choose to disrespect the law over and over and over and over and over. At a certain point, it’s perfectly okay to give up on a person.

 

It’s terrifying to realise that there really are people who think misguided compassion is enough to fix society’s most dysfunctional and deranged individuals. No wonder so much bad shit happens. In the grand scheme of things, innocent peoples’ safety seems to rank FAR lower than criminals’ rights. Just my opinion, of course.

 

Not to mention, I absolutely do not trust social workers or medical personnel to keep dangerous individuals separated from the public. I’m admittedly no expert on any of the topics I’m discussing, but I see a lot of stories about inmates escaping mental facilities in what seems like a fairly easy fashion. Simply put, it just doesn’t seem like a promising solution at all, whatsoever.

 
Document 150 (filed on September 10, 2024), he wrote:

“I have had the last straw with these arrogant suggestions that a 2.5 year old email dispute between myself and a stranger means I need medication. No I don’t. I have a legal right to refuse that garbage for a reason.”

Document 150-1 (filed September 10, 2024):

“No I am not your lab rat for meds so the answer really just became ‘no’ for meds. I will Plead the Fifth and use my right to remain silent if another psychiatrist comes my way…”

Document 147 (filed August 21, 2024):

“I am a very competent person…I am competent and I remember shit.”

Document 136 (filed July 1, 2024):

“I am not mentally ill nor am I a public safety threat.”

Document 133 (filed June 24, 2024):

“…my desire to express myself in writing is in no way shape or form a sign of any mental issues or status as being a threat to society as I come from 29 prior years of life of positive social dialogue with people.”

Document 127 (filed April 22, 2024):

“I am not a public safety threat, I am not a threat to society, I am not mentally ill. I think all you people do is stage everything before we all stand up for Judge Judy so you say things to provoke a response from me.”

Document 86 (filed October 25, 2023):

“I am not a public safety threat.”

If you ask me, the writing is on the wall.

 

I don’t see this…situation ending well, no matter what the outcome of Wenke’s case ends up being. He’s not facing prison time at this point (I believe he’s been detained longer than the amount of potential time he was facing), which means he’ll probably either be ordered to undergo inpatient mental treatment or released on strict probation. Call me a Negative Nancy, but I don’t see either course of action leading to meaningful change.

 

I think Wenke will always be the way he is and that there’s no changing him. I’m completely open to being proven wrong, but I spent years holding out false hope that deep down, Wenke still had a morsel of human decency. People used to ask me why I was still tolerating his mistreatment when nearly all his other friends had wisely said “fuck this, I’m out.” I refuse to waste another second of my life on an unrealistic vision of him developing a baseline level of consideration for anyone but himself.