Mental defense allows man to stay out of jail
Posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2008
A man found not guilty by reason of mental defect won’t be sent to a mental hospital because he does not suffer from a mental defect, a judge ruled Monday.
A Washington County jury in February found Jeffrey Carl Thompson, 45, not guilty on charges of kidnapping and aggravated assault by reason of mental disease or defect. Thompson was acquitted on separate charges of rape and terroristic threatening during his trial.
Thompson was allowed to remain free and continue to receive treatment instead of being sent to a state mental facility. He is currently receiving treatment from a Veterans Affairs hospital in Iowa for obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to court records.
“ The law is clear based on the evidence before the court, ” said 4 th Judicial District Judge Kim Smith. “ There is no evidence his release would create a danger. ”
“ I highly recommend that you continue to receive treatment at the VA in Iowa, ” Smith told Thompson at a hearing Monday.
Thompson is accused of taking his ex-wife at gunpoint from her Springdale home to a motel on Dec. 26, 2006, repeatedly threatening to kill her and then raping her. He denied that he kidnapped or raped his wife. He claims the sex was consensual and that he threatened to shoot himself, not her, with the gun.
“ Jeff’s mind was not a criminal mind that morning, ” his attorney, Lisa Parks, told jurors during his trial. “ It was the mind of a sick man in despair. ”
Thompson was deployed to the Middle East three times as a member of the U. S. Army National Guard during their marriage, which ended in divorce in November 2006.
Thompson became suicidal after his son refused to talk to him on Christmas Day, Parks told the jury.
Typically, a defendant is required to get treatment from a state mental facility when he or she is found not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, but this case is far from typical. If a mental defense is unsuccessful, a defendant faces prison time upon conviction like anyone else.
What’s unusual about this case is a jury, not a doctor, decided that Thompson suffered from a mental defect or disease, said 4 th Judicial District Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Durrett. It is not uncommon for a defendant to claim this defense, but a psychologist usually determines whether a defendant is competent to stand trial and whether he or she knew right from wrong at the time of the alleged offense.
Jeremy Hinton, a psychiatry fellow with the Arkansas State Hospital, determined Thompson was competent to stand trial. He was unable to verify a mental defect or disease that contributed to the offense.
Ronald McInroe, Ph. D., who testified for Thompson during his trial, found he suffered from a mental defect at the time of the incident. He diagnosed Thompson with depressive disorder not otherwise specified, general anxiety disorder with obsessive-compulsive features, and personality disorder.
The jury was left to decide Thompson’s mental condition because the facts were in dispute. After his acquittal, another mental examination was conducted on Thompson to determine whether he should be committed to a state mental facility for his role in the alleged kidnapping and aggravated assault or whether he should be allowed to remain a free man.
Michael J. Simon, a forensic psychologist for the Arkansas State Hospital, recommended in a May 29 letter to Smith that Thompson should continue to live in the Illinois / Iowa area where he has family support and gainful employment.
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