The Luke Wenke Files

After pleading guilty to just one out of five probation violation charges (in exchange for getting the other four dropped), Luke Wenke was due to be sentenced in federal court on November 21st, 2023. During the hearing, however, the parties involved in the case raised lingering concerns regarding Wenke’s competency and whether he poses a danger to the community. The judge ordered the prosecution and defence to research local options for getting an evaluation done, as opposed to having one performed by experts for the Bureau of Prisons.

Luke Wenke: Letter Writer or Threat to Society?

Representing the government, U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo acknowledged that Wenke’s public defender, Frank Passafiume, opposed a BOP evaluation, which would significantly delay Luke Wenke’s sentencing, while pointing out that all parties involved likely agreed that “some type of evaluation” was required in order to satisfactorily resolve the case. He expressed an implied skepticism over whether some of the local experts Passafiume suggested were appropriate for the type of risk assessment that the court sought.

Passafiume responded to DiGiacomo’s commentary by stating, “there’s not going to be a doctor that specializes in risk assessment for defendants who are sending letters from — you know, from jail.”

To that, I say: Why wouldn’t there be? Any psychological expert who’s even halfway familiar with stalking, erotomania (and other delusions), obsessive behaviours, and their links to criminality definitely knows about the tendency for certain criminals to deluge their targets with nonsensical unwanted letters. Um, hello? John Hinckley? Nevermind. Moving on…

Judge: Everybody is Entitled to Write Letters

The hearing was presided over by the Honorable John L. Sinatra, Jr., who addressed Luke Wenke’s letter writing habit by stating, “there’s no more threats, at least, right? No crimes, at least, in the letters.”

Riiiiight, because never mind someone’s right to be left alone or the intimidating effect that a barrage of unwanted and half-coherent psychobabble can have on a victim.

To the judge’s credit, he at least entertained the possibility that Luke Wenke could eventually backslide, even if his behaviour improved in the interim, stating, “What if he gets worse? That’s on me, right?”. Sinatra then said he wanted to feel comfortable sentencing Luke Wenke to time served and releasing him from custody with improved conditions of supervision.

Judge Sinatra also mentioned that while “everybody is entitled to write letters,” there’s a line between free speech and violations of criminal law. He advised Passafiume to sit down with Wenke in the future and teach him the difference.

The judge also said, “we can make some progress on making sure that the recipients of prior letters are adequately thought about and protected,” but that he doesn’t want Wenke sitting county lock-up while the process gets needlessly dragged out.

Wait, what?! It sounds to me like they’re more worried about inconveniencing a criminal defendant who refuses to leave his victims alone than the safety and well-being victims themselves. That’s how I interpret those words, at least, although I sincerely hope I’m misunderstanding the message.

“If Somebody Gets a Letter They Don’t Want, so what?

Judge Sinatra offered some concluding thoughts on Luke Wenke’s letter writing habits, stating:

“I understand he’s got an urge to write letters. That’s okay. But he’s also got to know that there’s a line. And I think maybe we can tolerate, as a society, some irritation, but we can’t have him going across that line. About right? So if somebody gets a letter they don’t want, so what? That’s my going-forward view on things. But he’s got to be mindful of the line.”

The judge raises a valid question: how much obsessive letter writing (and Luke Wenke’s other behaviours) should society be willing to tolerate?

In my humble opinion, Luke Wenke crossed that threshold a looooong fucking time ago, including when he first violated probation six weeks after his release from prison by sending a racist, vengeful, and hate-filled letter to his cyberstalking victim’s business partner. But hey, what would I know?

USA v. Luke Wenke – Transcript
November 21^st, 2023

Categories: Competency, court documents: transcripts; obsessions: letter writing obsession; threats