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WE HAVE OBTAINED NOT GUILTY VERDICTS BECAUSE OF MENTAL DEFECT FOR CLIENTS CHARGED WITH DANGEROUS FELONIES.
Case: State of Arizona v. J. H.
Facts: J.H. was charged with two counts of Attempted Murder, class 2 dangerous crimes against children, and faced a minimum prison sentence of 40 years. She was accused of trying to kill her children by poisoning them with ice cream sundaes laced with mental health medication. We hired both a psychiatrist and psychologist to assist in J.H.'s defense. We argued that J.H.'s actions were the result of her being in a toxic delirium caused by her mental health care provider's failure to properly treat her. We further argued that because of the delirium she was unable to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions. The government's psychiatrist argued J.H. was sane at the time of the attempted murders.
Result: J.H. was found NOT GUILTY of all charges. She returned home, began working and cares for her two daughters while receiving appropriate mental health care.
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WE HAVE SECURED PLACEMENT AT THE ARIZONA STATE HOSPITAL RATHER THAN PRISON FOR CLIENTS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS.
Case: State of Arizona v. K.C.
Facts: K.C. was charged with Robbery, a class 4 dangerous felony, and faced a prison sentence of 4 to 8 years. K.C., previously diagnosed with schizophrenia, discontinued his medication prior to the offense and decompensated. Government doctors believed K.C. to be sane at the time of the offense. Our doctor disagreed. The government required a prison term as a part of all pretrial plea agreement offers.
Result: After trial and a hung jury, the trial court declared a mistrial. The court, acting as finder of fact, then found K.C. guilty but insane. Rather than being sentenced to prison, K.C. was sent to the Arizona State Hospital for mental health care and released upon becoming stable.
Case: State of Arizona v. D.W.
Facts: D.W. was charged with various property, violent and sexual crimes. Additionally, D.W. had twice before been sent to prison. For his present crimes, D.W. faced more than 200 years in prison. Our psychologist diagnosed D.W. as suffering from psychosis and delusions at the time of his offenses. We argued that the prison system had failed to previously treat D.W.'s mental illness and that future incarceration in prison would be destructive to him. We advocated treatment for D.W. rather than a return to prison.
Result: We obtained a plea agreement that ensured D.W. would receive treatment. The trial court accepted our psychologist's conclusion that D.W. was insane at the time he committed the violent and sexual crimes. D.W. was placed at the Arizona State Hospital rather than returned to prison.
Case: State of Arizona v. J.Q.
Facts: J.Q. was charged with numerous sex crimes against multiple children and faced a prison sentence in excess of 150 years. J.Q. was seen by seven different mental health providers who disagreed as to whether he suffered from any mental defect. While government doctors diagnosed him as sane, our psychiatrist disagreed. We advanced the argument that J.Q. suffered from a delusional disorder, grandiose type, that created a belief system causing him to think that everything that happened to him was the work of angels, God or Satan. We argued that J.Q. would respond positively to appropriate pharmacotherapy.
Result: J.Q. was sentenced to a 10 year prison term. However, J.Q. entered into a plea agreement that allowed him to be sent to the Arizona State Hospital to receive pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy rather than go to prison.
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WE HAVE OBTAINED DEVIATIONS FROM STANDARD PLEA AGREEMENT OFFERS FOR CLIENTS SUFFERING WITH MENTAL ILLNESS.
Case: State of Arizona v. K.B.
Facts: K.B. was charged with various property crimes including Trafficking In Stolen Property, a class 2 felony and Burglary, a class 4 felony. K.B. had been imprisoned twice before for a total of more than 5 years and faced a prison range of 10.5 to 35 years. Prosecutors offered a plea agreement requiring him to serve a 9.25 year prison sentence. We argued that K.B.'s mental health problems were previously undiagnosed. Our psychologist diagnosed Severe Dependent Personality Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Result: A deviation from policy was obtained and K.B. received a 1.5 year jail term followed by probation. As a condition of probation, K.B. participated in mental health.
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