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Plea of insanity or lowering sentencing

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RandomUser02

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? South Carolina

My father has been suffering from an unknown mental illness for at least the last year and has recently just commited two counts of assault with intent to kill + firing a firearm within a residental area, but no one (including the victims) believe he was in the right state of mind at the time. He turned himself in once he 'came too' that night and confessed to everything without a lawyer present (infact, he doesn't even have a lawyer yet - i just got him on the list to be assigned a public defender). If the victims testify that he was obviously not in the right state of mind and a mental evalutation diagnoses him with some form of mental illness, will he be eligable for a sentencing at a mental institution rather than a prison? Also, the cops all said that he was being extremely cooperative and that he didnt remember anything. Will his cooperation and turning himself in factor into a lower sentence? Because I believe each assault can carry up to twenty years in prison, and he won't live very long in a prison (sucide / death by defense).
 


rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
NGRI, not guilty by reason of insanity is a risky defense at best when there is a diagnoised and treated mental disorder, let alone when it is not. However there seems to be some confirmation that there could be something to this. Please contact the public defenders office and ask them to arrange for a psychological evaluation, the court can order an evaluation.
Has your father been in any sort of accident or illness in the last few years or any exposures to environmental toxins, any history of head injuries, what type of work did he do. Is he being treated for any medical condition? Drugs either prescribed or recreational? Does your father drink alcohol or smoke? Answers to these questions may provide some clue. Keep us updated
 
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seniorjudge

Guest
NGRI rarely works on a jury. If pa is found guilty or pleads guilty, he can ask for a mental evaluation. That will help the judge determine his sentencing. However, I have to warn you that a person is found guilty on his actions, not what he was thinking at the time. If pa knows the difference between right and wrong, he is sunk.

What do the cops say he did?
 

RandomUser02

Junior Member
NGRI, not guilty by reason of insanity is a risky defense at best when there is a diagnosed and treated mental disorder, let alone when it is not.
Does he have to be found NGRI in order to be sent to a mental institution rather than a prison?

Has your father been in any sort of accident or illness in the last few years or any exposures to environmental toxins
The neighborhood has a history of contamination by a nearby plant but they installed city water to counteract it. However, he did a lot of work outside and would wash his face / hands with the water.. although I doubt this will play a factor.

any history of head injuries
When he was a teenager he was in an accident that killed his girlfriend and messed him up.. pretty sure there was a head injury on the list of injuries, I'll look into it and also see if there were any other injuries.

what type of work did he do
He was an engineer but he stopped working a year ago but we don't know why. We've just concluded that it ties in with the disorder that he is suffering from. I've found out from his former girlfriend (one of the victims) that he started selling all of his stuff on ebay recently after quitting and telling her that he didn't plan on being around much longer and that he was going to kill himself on numerous occasions. On this note, I'd like to add that the guns involved weren't his but rather hers.. she kept them loaded and in easy access to a man that had told her on numerous occasions (apparently) that he was going to kill himself. Although I doubt I'll suggest the PA go the route of blaming the victim, it certainly wasn't a wise move on her behalf.

Drugs either prescribed or recreational?
He wouldn't get help for whatever reason so I gave him Zoloft, an anti-depressant medication. Unfortunately, I've recently found out that when he was in the car accident the doctors gave him an anti-depressant / tranquilizer and that it had the opposite effect on him causing the doctors to have to strap him down because he went nuts. I didn't know this prior to giving him the medication and I'm willing to take the charges involved with giving him the meds if it means helping him out of this situation.

Does your father drink alcohol or smoke?
Yes and no, he was on the verge of alcoholism (if not fully there.. would spend hours upon hours at a bar everyday prior to and especially after quitting his job) however he quit drinking about a month ago. He was seen at the bar the day of the incident but he only thinks he had a few drinks. This unfortunately isn't reliable because he didn't know what he had done until the police asked him specific questions like "did you do this.."

What do the cops say he did?
During the incident or after when he turned himself in? If it is when he turned himself in then they said he was very cooperative but "wasn't there" and was emotionless.. They told me that he had told them that he didn't remember what he had done, but apparently they managed to get a confession out of him anyways. The arresting officer was very simpathetic towards my father and I when I went to get his vehicle out of impound. He asked me on several occasions how he was holding up / doing.

Will his confession rule out any possible plea bargain? Without NGRI is there no way that I can get him institutionalized? I realize that my father sounds like a cold blooded criminal but that is far from the truth. He is a very good man and has just been snowballing for about seven years now and it all caught up to him and I fear that my giving him medication may have helped push him over the edge. I am doing everything I can from keeping him from spending the next twenty years in prison including considering changing my major from computer engineering to law incase the case doesn't go the way I hope.

I appreciate all of your responses and thank you in advance for any future responses.
 
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seniorjudge

Guest
So far you have not given us one fact as to what he did to have these charges filed against him.
 

rmet4nzkx

Senior Member
Please contact the public defender's office today, give them this informaiton. Your father needs a psych evaluation so a professional can assess him not only for compency but also review his histoy and medical records. The reactions to medication may explain why he may have acted as he did with un Dx mental illness but only the judge will be able to weigh that along with all the other evidence. The public defender can make appropriate motions re confession and competency.

Try to get you father into see a psychiatrist right away. Is he on disability? If your father was incompetent and used the guns provided by his girlfriend and she did so knowingly, she could face charges as well, so her cooporation or lack thereof may come into play, all things the PD office can work with.

People with mental illness are at greater risk for being used by others and self medicating and being despondent. Be honest about providing the antidepressants, you did so in good faith since he wouldn't get help. He should cooporate but also request counsel before speeking with the police. Has he been arrigned yet? Any charges or just the questioning? If he acts strange or violent call 911, if he withdraws, or becomes suicidal, call police for a well check.

While you were speaking re a NGRI defense there is also a temporary insanity plea sometimes based on brief psychotic episode, if you can find the cause of his bizzare behavior it will help mitigate his sentence.
 

RandomUser02

Junior Member
So far you have not given us one fact as to what he did to have these charges filed against him.
I have no intentions of saying what he was arrested for.. I realize this will jeopardize the integrity of your advice, but if I said then I fear it would cast the wrong light on the type of person my father is and may therefore cause people that were once willing to give advice on what I can do as far as getting him help to think that he may deserve to spend the rest of his life in prison, which is not the case.

Please contact the public defender's office today, give them this information
I've already arranged to have a Public Defender assigned to him but I doubt I'll be able to meet with PD until he first meets with my father. I am more than anxious to have a sit down with the PD but unfortunately I won't be able to until my father actually has one. I'm hoping that one will be assigned to him today but in the meantime I'm trying to gather as much information as possible into what routes we could take and present the information that I have to the PD and counsel with him as to what he/she thinks is the best course to take.

He should cooperate but also request counsel before speaking with the police.
Well he has already turned himself in that night. He spent several hours looking for a cop and finally called 911 to have them come and pick him up because he didn't know where the police station was.

Any charges or just the questioning?
Yes, there are two counts of assault with intent to kill and firing a firearm within a residential neighborhood. What I don't understand at the moment, and will have to let the PD investigate, is how the cops managed to get a confession out of him when he didn't know what he had done. Apparently they asked him direct questions like "did you do this..." He doesn't understand why he has two counts but apparently they have down that he confessed to two. It's all one very big mess right now.

Since he has confessed and is obviously guilty - will there be room to negotiate to get him institutionalized rather than imprisoned? I fear that his confession may have blown any plea bargain out of the water.

If he acts strange or violent call 911, if he withdraws, or becomes suicidal, call police for a well check.
He is currently detained and was not given bail. Although after talking with him, he has told me that even if he had been given bail that he wouldn't of taken it.. He is terrified of himself at the moment, fearing what may happen without his control.


Try to get you father into see a psychiatrist right away. Is he on disability?
No, he is not on disability but probably should have been.. he wouldn't even get unemployment after he quit his job. I have tried to arrange a meeting with a psychiatrist for an evaluation but I'm not sure how active they are going to be in getting him one until he has an attorney which is my main focus at the moment. I fear, however that he may recover from what ever it is that he is suffering from by the time he gets an evaluation / lawyer.

Again, I thank you for your help.
 
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seniorjudge

Guest
Thread closed.....

RandomUser02 said:
I have no intentions of saying what he was arrested for.. I realize this will jeopardize the integrity of your advice, but if I said then I fear it would cast the wrong light on the type of person my father is and may therefore cause people that were once willing to give advice on what I can do as far as getting him help to think that he may deserve to spend the rest of his life in prison, which is not the case.
Okay, we will close this thread.
 

RandomUser02

Junior Member
That's not right man, I haven't even actually had a conversation with a cop as to what he confessed to so what ever I had to say on the matter would be from the victim's perspective anyways. You haven't been any help to begin with and those that were helping weren't being persistant into his actual crime, other than the charges. I see no reason for this act of childishness.
 

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