When Richard J. Shenkman goes on trial next month for kidnapping his ex-wife and holding her captive during a day-long standoff at his South Windsor home in July 2009, his attorney will attempt to convince a jury that Shenkman, due to a mental illness, did not understand the wrongfulness of his conduct or could not control himself.

Shenkman is going on trial, beginning Oct. 3, on charges of first-degree kidnapping, violation of a protective order, possession of a pistol without a permit, first- and second-degree threatening, third-degree assault, interfering with police and first-degree arson.

Jury selection begins today before Hartford Superior Court Judge Julia D. Dewey.

During pretrial arguments on Monday, Shenkman, whose hair has grown longer in prison, appeared in an orange jumpsuit. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, which had been revised by the state in preparation for the trial, and listened quietly as the lawyers discussed the logistics.

The 62-year-old former marketing executive has been held without bond since he allegedly accosted Nancy P. Tyler at gunpoint in a Hartford parking garage on July 7, 2009, and held her hostage at his South Windsor home for hours while making a host of demands to police.

After Tyler escaped, police said Shenkman torched the house, then threatened officers with a gun when he left the burning structure.

Shenkman would likely be committed for several decades to the Whiting Forensic Institute in Middletown if the jury finds him not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. The arson and kidnapping charges alone carry maximum confinement periods of 25 years. Each of the other charges carry confinement periods of one to 10 years.

In Connecticut, a person accused of a crime can be found not guilty because, at the time of the crime, the accused lacked the capacity - through mental disease or defect - to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or control that conduct. Shenkman has been evaluated by experts for the defense and state who are expected to testify at the trial.

Vicki Melchiorre, a senior assistant state's attorney, is prosecuting. Hugh F. Keefe, a well-known defense attorney from New Haven, is representing Shenkman.

The trial format is expected to be slightly different due to the insanity defense. First, Melchiorre will put on the state's "case in chief," attempting to prove Shenkman is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Tyler, police and other witnesses would likely be called to testify during this phase.

Next, the defense will call a psychologist and other experts in an attempt to prove Shenkman is insane by a preponderance of the evidence. The state will then have the opportunity to call its own witnesses to rebut the defense experts.

The jury will have three options during its deliberations. The panel could find Shenkman not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, which likely would result in his long-term confinement in the mental institution.

The jury could reject the insanity defense and find Shenkman guilty, in which case he would likely receive a lengthy prison term.

The panel also could find him not guilty on any of the charges.

Shenkman and Tyler, who had co-owned and operated the public relations company Prime Media, which organized the OpSail 2000 and Boats, Books and Brushes festivals in New London, were embroiled in a bitter divorce for years before the incident. Shenkman was at the time awaiting trial in New London for allegedly burning down Tyler's beach home in Niantic in March 2007.

Shenkman had been married twice before he and Tyler married in 1993, and Monday's court testimony indicated that Shenkman's two other ex-wives could be called as witnesses at the upcoming trial.

k.florin@theday.com