"Man gets 40 years in jail..."

"...after rejecting plea deal that would have freed him immediately"

"I think he was more unstable than anything else," Smith (appointed defense attorney) said. "Although, I think if you were to ask him, he would think he was fine. I think he needs another set of eyes and ears to look at what I've looked at."

Smith filed for a psychological evaluation in March, which said "may be incompetent to stand trial based on the numerous conversations with Lindsey, his history of mental illness, the strange occurrence and irrational conduct that caused his arrest, and letters that were sent to counsel filled with biblical references, conspiracies, delusional beliefs, and illogical conjecture."

However, Smith said Lindsey was deemed competent by the evaluation and judge.

"This defendant had compiled a lengthy criminal history out of state prior to moving to Texas," Teissier said. "Consequently, Lindsey is obviously not the type of person we want living in Texas or Montgomery County. Unfortunately for him, he had to learn that the hard way."

Smith said a plea bargain would have reduced the sentence at assault and allowed Lindsey to be released.

"He is very religious and said no man should judge another man," said Smith, who said Lindsey said he understood the charges and punishment he faced. "That's another reason I filed a psychological evaluation is because of his thought process. ... He'd use religion to justify actions. The problem was the decisions weren't going to help him in reality."

"I said the minimum is 25 to life. You're going to have all of these witnesses come and testify against you and you are not going to have anyone testify for yourself. "He said, 'It is what it is.'"