Luke Wenke: Competent but “In Need of Care”

In April 2025, the federal judge overseeing Luke Wenke’s cyberstalking case and subsequent probation violations determined that Wenke is “suffering from a mental disease or defect” warranting inpatient care or treatment at a “suitable facility.” From my understanding (as a layperson with a very limited knowledge of legalese), this decision was made under a federal statute allowing for the hospitalisation of defendants who have been deemed competent but appear to be experiencing mental health issues making them unsuitable for conventional consequences (like prison or supervised release).

 

The following document explains the judge’s reasons for remanding Luke Wenke to inpatient treatment despite having been deemed competent on multiple occasions and by various mental health professionals. The decision appears to rely heavily on the findings of Dr. Corey Leidenfrost, a forensic psychologist who specialises in court-ordered competency evaluations and the treatment of mentally ill individuals who are prone to aggression.

 

The judge also based his decision on various other factors, including Luke Wenke’s behaviour, social media posts, and his many letters to the court, the majority of which were sent following Wenke’s most recent probation violation arrest in October 2023. After considering the appropriate material for making his decision, the judge concluded that Dr. Leidenfrost’s findings regarding Luke Wenke’s mental state and alleged propensity for violence are credible.

 

Luke Wenke’s Chicago Evaluation

In late summer of 2024, Luke Wenke was transferred to the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago, a federal Bureau of Prisons facility with a unit specialising in mental health and assessments. While there, he underwent additional in-depth analysis by Dr. Katelyn Nelson, who worked under the oversight of Dr. Robin Watkins.

 

The Chicago-based specialists determined that Luke Wenke is not delusional, which stands in contrast to Dr. Leidenfrost’s opinion that Wenke suffers from multiple types of delusions. Instead, Dr. Nelson and Dr. Watkins attributed Wenke’s fixations with certain things and people to an unspecified personality or autism spectrum disorder.

 

Both the prosecution and the judge disagreed with this opinion while emphasising that Drs. Nelson and Watkins were tasked with analysing Wenke under a separate legal standard, which is apparently irrelevant to determining whether a convicted defendant is in need of hospitalisation for a mental disease or defect.

 

I’m not qualified to explain this, even if I understand it, so this is all I’m going to say. Dr. Leidenfrost evaluated Luke Wenke under 18 U.S. Code § 4244, which is used for determining if a convicted defendant needs hospitalisation for a mental disease or defect. Dr. Nelson and Dr. Watkins analysed Wenke in the context of 18 U.S. Code § 4241, which is meant for establishing whether a criminal defendant is competent to stand trial or undergo post-release proceedings.

 

What Happens Next with USA v. Luke Wenke?

Luke Wenke will be turned over to the custody of the Attorney General, who will oversee his inpatient care. According to the document below, he’s being hospitalised in lieu of incarceration, and “such commitment constitutes a provisional sentence of imprisonment to the maximum term authorized by law for the violation of release to which Wenke admitted…” (p. 10).

 

Once again, my interpretation could be wrong, so please don’t take my word verbatim. But I think this means that Luke Wenke could remain hospitalised for the same amount of time that the maximum punishment his probation violation conviction carries. I have a number in my head (based on previous court transcripts and research), but I don’t want to state it here because I’m not confident that it’s correct. The document does not specify the length of time.

 

The document goes on to state that if Luke Wenke recovers from his “mental disease or defect” within the allotted “provisional sentence” period, the director at the facility overseeing his treatment should file a document verifying his recovery with the Clerk of Court. At that point, the case would proceed to sentencing.

 

My Unanswered Question

What the document does not specify, and one of the questions I have been asking over and over and fucking over, is what will happen if Wenke still hasn’t “recovered” by the end of his “provisional sentence”. Assuming that this means he remains hospitalised, then what happens if he “recovers” a few months or a year after his “provisional sentence” has been exceeded? Will he be released to his own devices, free to roam in mainstream society with inadequate or no legal oversight? Free to refuse medication and outpatient treatment? If outpatient treatment is required, how strictly will he be held to this obligation? Will he be under legal supervision, i.e. probation? Does the legal case end?

 

I don’t fucking know any of these answers because I gave up trying to find out after asking people involved in the case probably a dozen times over the past year and being met with both uncertainty and silence.

 

So, after numerous evaluations by multiple specialists (including a seemingly pointless trip to Chicago for analysis under a supposedly irrelevant statute, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer), my number one question remains unanswered. Even the judge’s decision document ordering Luke Wenke to undergo treatment is painfully vague in this regard, leaving the future just as seemingly open-ended as it has been all along. With no idea what comes after Wenke’s hospitalisation, or even what could come after it, I’m not comforted. I don’t feel safe — I feel safe FOR NOW, which has essentially been my state of being since late 2023.

 

Moreover, in my opinion, this outcome means that Luke Wenke’s consequences (i.e. hospitalisation) no longer qualify as punishment. Mandatory mental health treatment is not punitive (even if it feels that way). As someone who feels that Luke Wenke’s sense of entitlement, inflated ego, perception of himself as a victim, and disrespect for the law and boundaries have been facilitated by a lifetime of being babied and coddled, a lack of discipline is the literal exact opposite of what I think he needs.

 

All this outcome does is tell Luke Wenke that his behaviour isn’t his fault because something is wrong with his mind, and even if he denies having mental issues, he will still use that to his advantage because he’s a fucking opportunist. And I understand that I’m not some frou-frou Ph.D ultra-super triple brain expert, but I know the guy better than any of these analysts. I am now more confident than ever that this pathetically disastrous situation will end horrifically.

 

Luke Wenke may literally be property of the state right now, but he’s no longer an inmate in any traditional sense. He’s a patient, and that change of status automatically has a delegitimising effect on the perception of his victims as victims. From that angle, it shouldn’t be hard to understand why I predict that the situation will continue to go downhill from here.

 

I’m not the “I told you so” type. In fact, I tend to second-guess myself in many aspects of my own thinking and decision-making, and I especially hope I’m wrong when it comes to this. But I’m confident about where I think this situation is going and how I think it will end, and I see this outcome as nothing more than a mechanism to delay the inevitable (which, for legal reasons, I won’t speculate about in detail on a public website).

 

USA v. Luke Wenke – Document #194