A psychiatric examination has been requested for a man accused of committing a murder for hire in Simpson County by his attorney, who has expressed concerns about the defendant’s mental health.

Xavior Caine Posey, 25, is set to stand trial June 28 in U.S. District Court in Bowling Green.

Posey is accused, along with Freddy Gonzalez, of conspiring to kill Brian Russell, 43, of Franklin, who was found shot to death on Dec. 30, 2020, at his Simpson County home.

Federal prosecutors allege that Gonzalez plotted with Posey to carry out the shooting, communicating with and paying Posey over CashApp.

In a motion filed Friday, Posey’s attorney, Kyle Bumgarner, said he has observed a “marked decline in Mr. Posey’s ability to participate in his defense” while Posey has been held in isolation at Grayson County Detention Center.

Requesting that the court order an evaluation for Posey, Bumgarner said that Posey has spent about three months in isolation and has been informed he will spend at least another six months there.

Bumgarner notes that Posey is not allowed any interaction or face-to-face contact with other inmates, has no access to television or radio, and is allowed recreation time out of his cell for an hour at a time three times a week.

The attorney said other inmates “endlessly scream nothing but nonsense and obscenities” when he visits Posey and that one visit was marked by the lingering smell of OC spray used against an inmate in an adjacent cell.

“It would be an understatement to say that Mr. Posey’s conditions of confinement are virtually impossible to endure,” Bumgarner said in the motion. “Mr. Posey has begun expressing and acting on delusional thoughts … He does not appear to be able to make rational, informed decisions. His decision making appears, instead, to be based on the immediate desire to do whatever is necessary to get out of isolation. With a trial eight months away, and the parties deeply involved in plea discussions, Mr. Posey must be able to assist in preparing his defense and understanding discussions with the government. He does not appear to have that ability at the present time.”

Bumgarner has requested that the evaluation be conducted by one or more qualified psychiatrists who would have the observations and conclusions of a treatment team of nurses, correctional officers, doctors and case workers at their disposal to aid in reaching a conclusion about Posey’s competency.

A written report detailing the findings of the evaluation would be submitted to the court, which would rule on whether Posey had the ability to understand the proceedings against him and could assist his lawyers in his own defense.

The charges against Gonzalez and Posey are punishable by life in prison. While the death penalty is a possible punishment for both men, Bumgarner said in his motion that the U.S. Department of Justice has indicated it will not pursue the death penalty.

According to court records, Gonzalez had been in a relationship with Russell’s ex-wife, who then returned to Russell to rekindle their relationship when the shooting took place.

A third man, Andy Schmucker, has pleaded guilty to a count of being an accessory after the fact to a murder for hire.

Authorities say Schmucker met Posey in Bowling Green the night of the shooting and drove him to Franklin, dropping him off near Russell’s residence after learning from Posey that he had been hired to kill someone.

Schmucker, who awaits sentencing, claimed to have heard three shots fired before Posey ran back to Schmucker’s truck, and the two then drove away from the scene, records show.