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| − | + | Prosecutors typically obtain grand jury indictments so they can take criminal suspects straight to trial. But when the Alameda County district attorney鈥檚 office recently took the step in a pair of high-profile murder cases, it did so precisely because the cases aren鈥檛 close to going to a jury. | |
| − | + | Both One Goh, accused of the , and Daniel Dewitt, that same year, are at Napa State Hospital, deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial due to schizophrenia. According to their attorneys, they have suffered from severe delusions. | |
| − | The | + | It鈥檚 possible that psychiatric care can restore the men to competency. But prosecutors said they had to indict the men as a step in pursuing a conservatorship designed to keep the men locked up while being treated, instead of running the risk that they will be released in the near future or placed at an unlocked facility like a halfway house. |
| − | + | Under state laws adopted in the 1960s in a shift away from mass institutionalization, a case against a criminal defendant found mentally incompetent to stand trial 鈥?meaning they can鈥檛 rationally assist in their own defense 鈥?is dismissed if the person isn鈥檛 restored to competency within three years. | |
| − | + | So prosecutors turn to what is known as a Murphy conservatorship, which requires securing a grand jury indictment. County civil attorneys can then go to probate court to seek the conservatorship for individuals who are deemed incompetent to stand trial and present a 鈥渟ubstantial danger鈥?to others due to mental illness. | |
| − | + | The move 鈥渟erves the purpose of preserving the case for prosecution if competency is ever regained and maintaining the individual in a placement which protects the public,鈥?said David Cook, an Alameda County deputy district attorney who acts as a point person on mental health issues. | |
| − | The | + | Those placed under Murphy conservatorships have the right to a yearly judicial review. |
| − | + | Some defendants never end up at trial. San Mateo County prosecutors indicted Marvin Patrick Sullivan, who had been accused in the 1998 fatal shooting of Millbrae police Officer David Chetcuti. In 2005, after years of treatment and three competency hearings, a judge ruled that Sullivan remained unfit for trial, citing his belief that he was an astronaut, an angel and the target of assassination by the CIA and the Italian Mafia. | |
| − | + | Daniel Horowitz, a , said such cases aren鈥檛 the norm. Most defendants are restored to competency unless they are 鈥減rofoundly ill鈥?and in the grip of delusions or hallucinations, Horowitz said. | |
| − | + | He noted that prosecutors prefer to bring defendants with competency issues to trial and prove they are guilty of the crime. Even if they are ultimately found not guilty by reason of insanity 鈥?meaning they can be released someday if their sanity is restored 鈥?prosecutors feel they did their due diligence, Horowitz said. | |
| − | + | 鈥淭hey like having a conviction, a finding of guilt, and then having the psychological treatment started,鈥?Horowitz said. 鈥淭hey feel they鈥檝e done their job. The case has been adjudicated, the victim鈥檚 family can rest. They鈥檙e more comfortable with that. It鈥檚 very hard to get out of Napa State Hospital.鈥? | |
| + | Goh, 45, is , a small Christian college where he had taken classes before dropping out. His attorney has said he sees faces in mirrors and experiences delusions regarding 鈥渢he battle between God and Satan and his role in that battle.鈥? | ||
| + | Dewitt, 25, had been 鈥?only to be quickly stabilized and released in most cases 鈥?before police said he killed Peter Cukor, 67, outside his Berkeley hills home in February 2012. Dewitt, who allegedly hit Cukor with a ceramic pot, believed at the time that he was searching for his imaginary fiancee, 鈥淶oey.鈥? | ||
| + | According to a transcript of grand jury testimony, Dewitt spoke to Berkeley police after his arrest in the voice of 鈥淶oey鈥?as well as a CIA agent. | ||
| + | 鈥淗e talked to us. Actually, let me rephrase that. The CIA person talked to us through Dewitt,鈥?Detective David Marble testified. 鈥淔or instance, 'I鈥檓 John. I鈥檓 with the CIA. Daniel didn鈥檛 do this.鈥?Something like that. So he was talking as if it was somebody else.鈥? | ||
| + | The grand jury returned an indictment against Dewitt charging him with murder as well as one count of assaulting an officer for allegedly breaking the jaw of Alameda County sheriff鈥檚 Deputy George Krause in 2012. Krause had been preparing to take Dewitt to Napa State Hospital after he was ruled incompetent to stand trial. | ||
| + | Candy DeWitt said in an interview that her son鈥檚 case is an example of why more needs to be done to impose mental health treatment on individuals who refuse it, before a crime occurs. She supports Laura鈥檚 Law, which allows court-ordered, involuntary outpatient treatment of people with a record of mental health hospitalizations and violence. | ||
| + | 鈥淲e鈥檙e missing something that happens ahead of time so people don鈥檛 cycle in and out of a hospital, so they don鈥檛 end up on Murphy conservatorships at a great cost to the county and at great cost to family members,鈥?she said. 鈥淲e simply can鈥檛 ignore anymore that what we have is not working. And locking them up or putting them in Murphy conservatorships for the rest of their life does no good to anybody.鈥? | ||
| + | Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: Twitter: @henryklee<p>Related Articles:</p><ul><li>[url=http://www.buycelinebags.com]Celine Handbags Outlet[/url]</li><li>[url=http://www.buycelinebags.com/celine-new-arrivals-35]Celine Bags New Arrivals[/url]</li><li>[url=http://www.buycelinebags.com/celine-trapeze-bags-36]Celine Trapeze Bags[/url]</li></ul> | ||
Revision as of 02:41, 30 October 2014
@@@ Prosecutors typically obtain grand jury indictments so they can take criminal suspects straight to trial. But when the Alameda County district attorney鈥檚 office recently took the step in a pair of high-profile murder cases, it did so precisely because the cases aren鈥檛 close to going to a jury. Both One Goh, accused of the , and Daniel Dewitt, that same year, are at Napa State Hospital, deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial due to schizophrenia. According to their attorneys, they have suffered from severe delusions. It鈥檚 possible that psychiatric care can restore the men to competency. But prosecutors said they had to indict the men as a step in pursuing a conservatorship designed to keep the men locked up while being treated, instead of running the risk that they will be released in the near future or placed at an unlocked facility like a halfway house. Under state laws adopted in the 1960s in a shift away from mass institutionalization, a case against a criminal defendant found mentally incompetent to stand trial 鈥?meaning they can鈥檛 rationally assist in their own defense 鈥?is dismissed if the person isn鈥檛 restored to competency within three years. So prosecutors turn to what is known as a Murphy conservatorship, which requires securing a grand jury indictment. County civil attorneys can then go to probate court to seek the conservatorship for individuals who are deemed incompetent to stand trial and present a 鈥渟ubstantial danger鈥?to others due to mental illness. The move 鈥渟erves the purpose of preserving the case for prosecution if competency is ever regained and maintaining the individual in a placement which protects the public,鈥?said David Cook, an Alameda County deputy district attorney who acts as a point person on mental health issues. Those placed under Murphy conservatorships have the right to a yearly judicial review. Some defendants never end up at trial. San Mateo County prosecutors indicted Marvin Patrick Sullivan, who had been accused in the 1998 fatal shooting of Millbrae police Officer David Chetcuti. In 2005, after years of treatment and three competency hearings, a judge ruled that Sullivan remained unfit for trial, citing his belief that he was an astronaut, an angel and the target of assassination by the CIA and the Italian Mafia. Daniel Horowitz, a , said such cases aren鈥檛 the norm. Most defendants are restored to competency unless they are 鈥減rofoundly ill鈥?and in the grip of delusions or hallucinations, Horowitz said. He noted that prosecutors prefer to bring defendants with competency issues to trial and prove they are guilty of the crime. Even if they are ultimately found not guilty by reason of insanity 鈥?meaning they can be released someday if their sanity is restored 鈥?prosecutors feel they did their due diligence, Horowitz said. 鈥淭hey like having a conviction, a finding of guilt, and then having the psychological treatment started,鈥?Horowitz said. 鈥淭hey feel they鈥檝e done their job. The case has been adjudicated, the victim鈥檚 family can rest. They鈥檙e more comfortable with that. It鈥檚 very hard to get out of Napa State Hospital.鈥? Goh, 45, is , a small Christian college where he had taken classes before dropping out. His attorney has said he sees faces in mirrors and experiences delusions regarding 鈥渢he battle between God and Satan and his role in that battle.鈥? Dewitt, 25, had been 鈥?only to be quickly stabilized and released in most cases 鈥?before police said he killed Peter Cukor, 67, outside his Berkeley hills home in February 2012. Dewitt, who allegedly hit Cukor with a ceramic pot, believed at the time that he was searching for his imaginary fiancee, 鈥淶oey.鈥? According to a transcript of grand jury testimony, Dewitt spoke to Berkeley police after his arrest in the voice of 鈥淶oey鈥?as well as a CIA agent. 鈥淗e talked to us. Actually, let me rephrase that. The CIA person talked to us through Dewitt,鈥?Detective David Marble testified. 鈥淔or instance, 'I鈥檓 John. I鈥檓 with the CIA. Daniel didn鈥檛 do this.鈥?Something like that. So he was talking as if it was somebody else.鈥? The grand jury returned an indictment against Dewitt charging him with murder as well as one count of assaulting an officer for allegedly breaking the jaw of Alameda County sheriff鈥檚 Deputy George Krause in 2012. Krause had been preparing to take Dewitt to Napa State Hospital after he was ruled incompetent to stand trial. Candy DeWitt said in an interview that her son鈥檚 case is an example of why more needs to be done to impose mental health treatment on individuals who refuse it, before a crime occurs. She supports Laura鈥檚 Law, which allows court-ordered, involuntary outpatient treatment of people with a record of mental health hospitalizations and violence. 鈥淲e鈥檙e missing something that happens ahead of time so people don鈥檛 cycle in and out of a hospital, so they don鈥檛 end up on Murphy conservatorships at a great cost to the county and at great cost to family members,鈥?she said. 鈥淲e simply can鈥檛 ignore anymore that what we have is not working. And locking them up or putting them in Murphy conservatorships for the rest of their life does no good to anybody.鈥?
Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: Twitter: @henrykleeRelated Articles:
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