Lewis, who wore a red jumpsuit signifying his status as among the most dangerous of prisoners - ordinary prisoners wear orange - had been sought in an intense nationwide hunt until Miami police, acting on a tip, arrested him at a homeless shelter Tuesday.
Last night, he was held in the ninth-floor psychiatric unit of the jail under "suicide precautionary measures," prison spokeswoman Janelle Hall said. The decision was based on an assessment of his emotional state.
Lewis confessed in interviews with Philadelphia detectives sent to Florida to take him back, officials said, then confirmed the confession to reporters as he was led in handcuffs to a prison van Tuesday. He also apologized to Cassidy 's family, saying, "I never meant anything to happen like this. "
Yesterday, Lewis was mostly monosyllabic and appeared eager to put the hearing behind him.
"I waive," he said, leaning into the microphone after Seraphin explained that he had the right to oppose the extradition or waive it.
Lewis did take a moment to add that he would decline to be interviewed any further by police without legal counsel.
"I can't talk without a lawyer now, but I am waiving," Lewis said.
Spectators in the small courtroom - where a mounted plaque reads, "We who labor here seek only the truth" - included Philadelphia Detective Sgt. William Britt of the Homicide Division, head of the five-man contingent charged with completing the investigation in Florida and taking Lewis back to Philadelphia.
It was not clear whether Lewis would return on a commercial flight or on one arranged by the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service. In any case, said Britt, Lewis will not return before tomorrow.
