Bipolar Today

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A quite interesting case involving bipolar disorder just went before the Supreme Court in Indiana. In January, Thomas Eugene Curtis was convicted of murdering his wife, Crystal Curtis. There was no question that he had killed her, but the question was whether or not he was not guilty by reason of insanity. During the trial, the trial judge, John Feick, and psychiatrist Rebecca Mueller. The trial judge asked whether or not the defendant would be released quickly into the community, and the psychiatrist agreed.

Commentary

First, I’ll just say that I have no idea if the man’s mental illnesses actually caused him to kill his wife, or whether or not his not guilty verdict was warranted per se. There seems to be some question about whether or not Curtis was really a marine and whether or not he had post-traumatic stress disorder on top of his bipolar and explosive personality disorders. Since I wasn’t there, I have no way of actually addressing these subject.

What I’m more interested in is the principle on which the case hinged. By asking the question of whether or not Curtis would be released back into the community, Judge Feick made the protection of the community from Curtis’ mental illness an issue in the trial. However, whether or not Curtis’ mental illness would be dangerous is irrelevant to the question of guilt; it is simply a different issue. Given Judge Feick’s leading rhetorical question, “They will kick him out as soon as they can, right?,” and Dr. Mueller’s response, “In this day and age, probably so,” the two issues had been conflated.

Had the defense lost the case, it would have set a dangerous precedent (though the Supreme Court could have ordered a new trial rather than ordered a not guilty verdict). People with mental illnesses could have been found guilty of crimes for which they should be otherwise found not guilty by reason of insanity because of the threat that their mental illnesses pose. However, these questions need to be separated. If someone isn’t legally responsible for their crime, prisons should not be used for protecting society. If the hospitals aren’t successfully protecting people “in this day and age,” that’s where the changes need to be made.

Related posts:

1. Guilty Pleas in Florida Medicare Fraud
2. Iowa Mental Health Court Helps Keep Mentally Ill out of Prison
3. Bipolar Disorder and Pleas: U.S. v. Miranda
4. Phase III Cariprazine Trial Shows Positive Results
5. MA Decision To Force Schizophrenic Woman’s Abortion and Sterilization Overturned