A new court filing has been added to the ongoing appeal (25-1165) in USA v. Luke Wenke (1:22-cr-00035). Uploaded to the docket on August 27th, the document states that Wenke’s motion for stay has been added as a submitted case to the Second Circuit Appeals Court’s substantive motions calendar for September 9th.
After being found competent but mentally ill and ordered to undergo involuntary inpatient mental health treatment earlier this year, Luke Wenke appealed the ruling. His public defenders filed a motion to stay his commitment pending the outcome of the appeal.
If granted, the motion would have delayed the start of Wenke’s compulsory treatment, thereby enabling him to remain in county lock-up while he appeals his case. The district court judge denied the motion, writing in his decision that Luke Wenke and society both stood to benefit from his forced treatment.
Following the district court’s denial, Wenke’s attorneys filed a similar motion to stay with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York City, which is overseeing his appeal. In the meantime, Wenke was relocated to the FMC Devens federal medical prison in Massachusetts to begin his mandatory treatment. Records show that he’s currently at the facility with a projected release date of October 7th, 2025.
“Treatment for Luke Wenke may be futile”
During his time at FMC Devens thus far, Luke Wenke has continued to inundate both the district and appeals courts with seemingly angry and vengeful letters indicating that he believes he’s been wrongfully incarcerated. Rather than taking a morsel of accountability for his actions, Wenke blames the court, prosecution, probation, his public defenders, and his victims for the consequences of his actions.
In my opinion, these letters prove what Wenke’s defence attorneys speculated prior to the judge’s decision to forcibly hospitalise him: that treatment may be futile. Based on his conduct and words, it’s evident that he doesn’t feel responsible for his actions, doesn’t think he needs mental help (or that anything is wrong with his mind), and that, above all, he remains irrationally obsessed with his victims and seemingly hell-bent on exacting retribution for the perceived wrongdoings that he believes were committed against him.
I never believed compulsory treatment would help Luke Wenke or lead to meaningful changes in his behaviour, but I hoped all along that I was wrong. Unfortunately, it now appears as though my prediction is correct. And while I disagree with his public defenders regarding the correct course of action, I find it telling that even they are willing to acknowledge that inpatient treatment may be a lost cause.
None of this should surprise anyone, especially since Luke Wenke only begrudgingly cooperated with mandated treatment (at best) in the past. He also stated many times that he would refuse to cooperate with treatment or take psychotropic medication, yet the prosecution seems to believe that he may become a decently-behaved non-threat to society during his time at FMC Devens.
In my opinion, all possible outcomes are bad.
Because I think mental health treatment is pointless, I hoped Luke Wenke’s case would remain a strictly criminal matter. Wenke was repeatedly found competent after undergoing multiple psychoanalyses, indicating that he understands the difference between right and wrong, and that he’s cognizant of the wrongfulness of his actions. And while I partially agree with the prosecution’s argument that he suffers from certain delusions, I think the government dramatically underestimated his self-awareness, the deliberateness of his conduct, and his presence of mind in general.
I think it was a huge mistake to turn Wenke’s case primarily into a mental health matter, which has the de facto effect of supporting the false notion that if he just gets the “help he needs,” he’ll perhaps make a turnaround. In my opinion, anyone who believes that this is possible is far more delusional and fantasy-prone than Wenke himself.
Earlier this year, someone involved in the case acted dumbfounded when I said I disagreed with forced mental health treatment for Luke Wenke. Their response was to the effect of, “but you said you wanted him locked up.”
Yes, I think Luke Wenke deserves to be locked up. In a correctional facility. Because he’s a danger to his victims (and society in general). But I don’t believe that any form of confinement would be better than supervision. I knew (and accepted) long ago that Luke Wenke wasn’t facing hard prison time, and have always believed that post-release supervision is one of the most imperative components to preventing the worst from happening.
I don’t know if Luke Wenke will be under supervision following his upcoming scheduled release, but I think probation would do a better job at protecting society in the long run than forcing him into treatment he refuses to cooperate with and hoping he emerges with a semblance of humanity. The latter is wildly unrealistic. It’s never going to happen, and I fear that the decision to mandate inpatient care could somehow serve as a conduit for avoiding post-release supervision.
A Colossal Waste of Time and Resources
I could be wrong about the possible outcomes of Luke Wenke’s ongoing legal disaster, given my lack of legal expertise and the fact that no one involved in this case seems willing or able to tell me what the possibilities are. Whenever I ask, I get vastly different answers from each person, including “I don’t know what could happen.” One person told me that the court could keep Wenke institutionalised past his max-out date (October 7th), yet federal Bureau of Prison records state that he’s scheduled for release on that day.
If Luke Wenke really is slated to be released next month, then I think his appeal is a pointless waste of time, effort, and taxpayer dollars. The appeal process itself could surpass Wenke’s scheduled release date, which only furthers my suspicion that he’s squandering resources simply because he fucking can and with no meaningful objective behind his decision to challenge his forced commitment.
If it’s possible for the court to extend Luke Wenke’s involuntary treatment past his scheduled release date, or if his appeal challenges something potentially damaging that the commitment decision left on his record, then I suppose this pathetic charade makes a little more sense than it would otherwise. The bottom line is that I’m just as clueless as any other layperson who keeps up with the case and/or has attempted to alert the authorities to the glaringly obvious warning signs that trying to save Luke Wenke through forced treatment will fail, and innocent civilians will likely shoulder the impending catastrophic results of the woefully misguided belief that he can be rehabilitated.
USA v. Luke Wenke (Appeal) – Notice
August 27th, 2025
CASE #25-1165, DOCKET ENTRY #36.1
USA v. Luke Wenke Appeal – Notice