CHARLESTON - The words from 21 years ago sounded through the courtroom Wednesday, as Patrick Wright told what happened on a June night when he saw Carol Specht lying on her couch.

"I said (expletive) it, if she gives me any trouble, I'll do away with her," he said, describing the break-in of Specht's apartment that ultimately led to her murder.

Wright's obscenity-laden taped confession to police was the highlight of the prosecution's presentation Wednesday at a hearing that will eventually lead to a new sentence for the 61-year-old convicted killer.

Meanwhile, Wright's attorneys will apparently try to convince Circuit Judge Dale Cini to give Wright a chance to go to a state mental facility after he finishes serving his prison time. The hearing to resentence Wright is expected to end today, when Cini will impose a life sentence or a fixed term of at least 20 years.

The new sentencing is required because a federal court said then-Circuit Judge Paul Komada shouldn't have said he didn't consider Wright's "troubled childhood" when he imposed the death penalty in September 1983. Former Gov. George H. Ryan's death sentence commutations earlier this year mean Wright can't receive the death penalty again.

Wright was found guilty of breaking into Specht's apartment and stabbing her to death, plus slashing the throat of her daughter Connie and trying to sexually assault both women.

Wright showed no reaction Wednesday as his taped confession was played, though most of the more than two dozen of Specht's family and friends who were in attendance lowered their heads, some fighting tears.

Assistant Illinois Attorney General John O'Connell told Cini that the prosecution wouldn't call any witnesses and instead would rely on letters from Connie Specht and others plus records of Wright's trial and sentencing, his time in prison and his lengthy history with mental institutions. O'Connell, Assistant Attorney General Lea Norbut and State's Attorney Steve Ferguson are the case's prosecution team.

Meanwhile, forensic psychologist Lawrence Raifman will likely be the only witness called by Wright's court-appointed attorneys, Eric Palles and Gary Ravitz. Raifman, who interviewed Wright earlier this month and reviewed his records, will finish his testimony today.

Though he practices in Maryland, Raifman testified Wednesday that he's reviewed Illinois law and thinks he's eligible for involuntary commitment in a Illinois Department of Human Services maximum security treatment facility if he's paroled from prison. Wright spent nearly 50 years in various institutions, and his diagnosis indicates that he has an attention deficit disorder and other problems, Raifman said.

Dave Fopay can be reached at dfopay@;jg-tc.com or 348-5733.