Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 23, 1990 TAG: 9003232000
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER SOUTHWEST BUREAU
DATELINE: EMORY LENGTH: Medium
The panel was held on the same day that a Carroll County circuit judge found David Carl Salmons innocent by reason of insanity in the fatal shootings of a father and son in 1987 and the attempted murders of two state troopers whose car he rammed before his arrest.
Abingdon lawyer Nancyjean Bradford said that, in cases involving murder or some major crime, "it's hard for us as a culture to say, `I'm not going to fry this fellow.' . . . It's more complex than that in our system of justice."
Our culture also opposes punishment when someone is unable to recognize the consequences of an act or incapable of controlling it, she said.
Robert Barron, staff psychologist at the Marion Correctional Treatment Center, said the number of cases using an insanity defense has multiplied 16 times in less than 20 years in Virginia, and he questioned whether there was that much more mental illness.
A decision of innocent by reason of insanity amounts to an indeterminate sentence, he said. The court gets a report in six months, and each year after that, on whether it is safe for the defendant to be set free.
Gary Johnson, institutional hearings officer at Marion, said he sees more mental illness among inmates mainly because there are more prisoners in jails and state institutions overall. Those found unable to function due to mental illness are sent to Marion.
Dr. Art Garrett, genetic counselor at East Tennessee State University School of Medicine, outlined several chromosomal and genetic disorders thought to be possible causes of criminal behavior, but he said little is really known in this area.
by CNB