"Lawyers for Hans Reiser claim the Linux developer convicted of murdering his wife may be 'mentally incompetent,' an argument that, if successful, could send Reiser to a mental institution instead of prison.
"In a court filing Tuesday, defense attorney William DuBois wrote Alameda County Superior Court Judge Larry Goodman 'that in my carefully considered opinion, defendant Hans Reiser may be mentally incompetent as a result of a mental disorder or developmental disability...'"