Criminal Law

Statement from MVFHR and NAMI on World Days

Posted on October 08, 2009
Murder Victims? Families for Human RightsNational Alliance on Mental IllnessStatement on World Day Against the Death Penaltyand World Mental Health DayOctober 10, 2009The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty has designated October 10th ?World DayAgainst the Death Penalty,? and the World Federation for Mental Health has designatedOctober 10th ?World Mental Health Day...

Groundbreaking New Report from MVFHR/NAMI

Posted on July 06, 2009
For Immediate Release Contact: Susannah ShefferJuly 6, 2009 617-512-2010 sheffer@aceweb...

FRONTLINE:

Posted on April 28, 2009
Tonight (April 28, 2009) PBS will air a new episode of FRONTLINE: "The Released" (60 minutes),which documents what happens when offenders with mental illness leave prison. It is scheduled to air at 9:00 PM EDT; check your local listings.Here's a message from the Senior Editor:Five years ago, FRONTLINE filmmakers Karen O'Connor and Miri Navasky went deep inside the Ohio prison system to see how it was caring for thousands of mentally ill inmates - a growing problem for prisons nationwide in the wake of the shutdown of most of the old state psychiatric hospitals...

Expansion of Programs in Texas Counties to Divert Mentally Ill From Prisons

Posted on April 24, 2009
According to Marc A. Levin of the Houston Chronicle, several counties in Texas are expanding programs to divert mentally ill offenders from prisons, saving millions of tax payer dollars. The article ("Expand program to divert mentally ill from prisons", April 22nd 2009) outlines several programs being instituted by Bexar, El Paso, and Tarrant counties to reduce the amount of mentally ill recidivists and money spent on their incarceration...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

More on Andre Thomas, Insanity Defense

Posted on April 13, 2009
The case of Texas death row inmate Andre Thomas has prompted a great deal of discussion about the insanity defense and about whether the death penalty is an appropriate punishment for offenders with severe mental illness. Here's an article that appeared Sunday in the Dallas Morning News ("Case Fuels Texas Debate on Insanity Defense," April 12, 2009): Everyone agrees Andre Thomas is crazy...

Death row inmate takes plea and life in prison

Posted on April 01, 2009
According to the Associated Press, Charles Mines has been taken off death row after being granted a new punishment trial. Mines will now spend the remainder of his life in prison ("Death Row Inmate Takes Plea and Life in Prison", March 31, 2009) Here is the full article:A condemned Texas inmate who won a new punishment trial from an appealscourt has agreed to a plea bargain that takes him off death row but likelykeeps him imprisoned for the rest of his life...

Death row inmate loses appeal on mental illness

Posted on March 23, 2009
An article released by the Associated Press ("Death row inmate loses appeal on mental illness"), March 22, 2009 states that death row inmate Jeffrey Wood has had his mental illness appeal rejected by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Wood, who was merely an accessory to capital murder, came within hours of being executed last August but was allowed time to be tested for mental illness...

"Crazy but Sane"

Posted on March 18, 2009
That's how Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Cathy Cochran has described Texas death row inmate Andre Thomas, who made national headlines last year after he reportedly plucked out his remaining eye and ate it (Thomas had plucked out his other eye while awaiting his capital murder trial)...

Tennessee Convict may be Re-evaluated for Competency

Posted on March 18, 2009
According to The Tennessean, Paul Dennis Reid may have his competency re-evaluated. Additionally, a petition has been filed with the Davidson County Criminal Court alleging that Reid had ineffective assistance of counsel during his trial for the murder of two restaurant workers...

TX Death Sentence Overturned

Posted on March 16, 2009
According to The Daily News, Texas death row inmate Gaylon George Walbey has received a new sentencing hearing from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ("Death-row inmate could get new hearing," March 15, 2009). Here's the full article:A convicted killer sentenced to die for the 1993 slaying of a college teacher will soon return to Galveston, where attorneys will decide whether to seek a new punishment hearing or permanently remove him from death row...

Update on Paul Devoe

Posted on March 11, 2009
According to the Austin American-Statesman, capital murder defendant Paul Devoe has been found competent to stand trial: "A staff psychiatrist at North Texas State Hospital on Feb. 24 declared Paul Devoe competent to stand trial. Devoe is accused of shooting to death a man at a Marble Falls bar, four people in a Jonestown house and a woman in Pennsylvania in August 2007 before being arrested in New York...

Patient Dumping in San Antonio?

Posted on March 09, 2009
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- The San Antonio Express-News reports nearly 600 patients discharged from the San Antonio State Hospital have been dropped off at the downtown Greyhound bus station since January 2008.One of them -- Raquel Padilla -- was found dead three days later in a concrete ditch -- having never gotten on that bus back to Del Rio...

Op-Ed: Prohibit the Death Penalty for Offenders with Mental Illness

Posted on January 16, 2009
Here's an op-ed that appeared in the The News-Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana), from Kathleen Bayes. Bayes is the executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Fort Wayne.Indiana should pass bill to prevent death penalty for severely mentally illThank You, Fort Wayne News-Sentinel editorial staff for your continued strong objection to reinstating the death sentence for Joseph Corcoran...

Legislation Re Mental Illness & the Death Penalty Introduced in North Carolina

Posted on January 14, 2009
The News & Observer reports that lawmakers in North Carolina will consider legislation aimed at prohibiting the death penalty for offenders with severe mental illness ("Bill would ban execution of mentally ill killers," January 13, 2009).Here's the full article:A coalition of advocates for the mentally ill and a state Superior Court judge spoke in favor today of legislation that would exclude the severely mentally ill from the death penalty...

More on Paul Devoe

Posted on January 14, 2009
Here's an update on Paul Devoe, from the Austin American-Statesman ("Judge orders Devoe mental records sealed," January 14, 2009):An Austin judge Tuesday sealed the psychiatric records of murder suspect Paul Devoe, a day after details from the records were aired on television...

Capital Murder Defendant Deemed Incompetent

Posted on January 13, 2009
According to the Austin American-Statesman, Paul Devoe, who is facing capital murder charges, has been deemed incompetent to stand trial (January 13, 2009). Competency relates to a defendant?s mental state at the time of trial, not at the time of the alleged crime...

Update on TX Death Row Inmate Andre Thomas

Posted on January 09, 2009
According to KXII News, Texas death row inmate Andre Thomas has injured himself once again ("Grayson Co. death row inmate gauges out other eye," January 8, 2009). Thomas has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and appears to suffer from frequent bouts with psychotic delusional states and a preoccupation with death, religious, and suicidal thoughts...

More on Andre Thomas

Posted on January 09, 2009
The New York Times has this story about Andre Thomas ("Texas Death Row Inmate Pulls Out Eye, Eats It," January 9, 2009):HOUSTON (AP) -- A Texas death row inmate with a history of mental problems pulled out his only good eye and told authorities he ate it...

Private Defender Program for Defendants with Mental Illness

Posted on January 09, 2009
Texas Lawyer has this update on new model for legal representation in Lubbock ("First Private Criminal Defender Program in Texas to Commence," January 8, 2009):"A first-of-its-kind program in Texas is scheduled to open Jan. 15 in Lubbock, providing specially trained private practitioners to represent indigent criminal defendants who are mentally ill or retarded...

New Mental Health Court in Harris County

Posted on January 08, 2009
The Houston Chronicle reports that Harris County judges have voted to get in line with the growing number of mental health courts nationwide ("Harris Judges Vote for Felony Mental Health Court," January 8, 2009). According to the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project, "Mental health courts (MHCs) are specialized dockets that link defendants with mental illnesses to court-supervised, community-based treatment in lieu of traditional case processing...

Editorial: Unjust death penalty

Posted on January 06, 2009
The following editorial appeared today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette regarding the case of death row inmate Joseph Corcoran. This year, the Indiana Legislature will consider a bill that would prohibit the death penalty for offenders determined to suffer from severe mental illness...

Update on Death Penalty Case in Indiana

Posted on January 02, 2009
Here's an update from The Journal Gazette on the case of Joseph Corcoran, a severely mentally ill death row inmate in Indiana ("Quadruple-murderer loses death penalty appeal," December 31, 2008):The state of Indiana can once again reinstate the death penalty against convicted quadruple-murderer Joseph E...

No Forced Medication in New Jersey Case

Posted on November 13, 2008
Law.com has this article from the New Jersey Law Journal regarding a case in which a judge has ruled against forcibly medicating a defendant in order to render him competent to stand trial ("Defendant Can't Be Forced to Take Drug to Make Him Fit for Trial, Judge Rules", 11-12-2008)...

OpEd: Mental illness must be in consideration

Posted on October 21, 2008
Here's an OpEd from George Haley, a mental health advocate in Tennessee, in which he offers his perspective as to why the death penalty is inappropriate for offenders with severe mental illness. This appeared on October 16, 2008 in The Tennessean: http://www...

Free Webinar: Law Enforcement and People with Mental Illnesses

Posted on October 20, 2008
On Tuesday, October 28, the Council of State Governments Justice Center, with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice, will sponsor a one-hour webinar during which "national experts in law enforcement and mental health will discuss effective crisis response models...

Candidates for Harris County District Attorney Address Issue of Mental Illness

Posted on October 20, 2008
On November 4, voters in Harris County will elect a new district attorney. In an article that appeared in the Houston Chronicle ("Race for DA puts justice system on trial," October 12, 2008), candidates C.O. Bradford and Pat Lykos expressed interest in reform, with a particular emphasis on addressing the needs of inmates with mental illness...

New Resources for Victims of Crimes Committed by People with Mental Illness

Posted on October 20, 2008
Last month, the Council of State Governments Justice Center published two guides on the rights of individuals who have been victimized by people with mental illnesses - the first ever national publications on this topic. Both were supported by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), Office of Justice Programs, U...

Families Affected by Mental Illness and the Death Penalty Gather in San Antonio

Posted on October 20, 2008
On Friday, October 3, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights (MVFHR) launched a groundbreaking new project, Prevention Not Execution (sound familiar?!), which brings together victims' families and families of the executed, all of whom had been affected by mental illness, murder, and the death penalty...

Message to PNP Readers

Posted on October 20, 2008
Dear Prevention Not Punishment Readers,Thank you so much for supporting this blog over the last year and a half. I apologize that my postings have been rather sparse these last couple of months.My Soros Justice Fellowship officially ended on September 1, 2008, which means that I no longer am focusing exclusively on issues related to mental illness and the death penalty...

TX Death Row Inmates Lose Appeals

Posted on October 09, 2008
Here's an update from the Associated Press regarding two Texas cases that involve issues of severe mental illness ("2 condemned killers in Texas lose appeals," October 8, 2008):"A North Texas auto mechanic whose original death sentence for the 1987 murders of a man and a 4-month-old child was overturned on appeal had his 2nd death sentence upheld Wednesday by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.