not guilty by reason of insanity

Ethics Quiz: The Rehabilitated Brain-Eating Cannibal [Link Fixed]

/ Jack Marshall / 13 Comments

That pleasant-looking chap above is Tyree Smith of Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 2013, he killed a homeless man and ate his brain and eyeballs. (After that appetizer, he went to Subway.) Smith was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, and committed to a state psychiatric hospital for 60 years. Just ten years after Tyree’s bold gourmet adventures, however, the state Psychiatric Security Review Board has ruled that Smith is ready to be transitioned back into the community.

So he’s out.

Your Ethics Alarms Ethics Quiz of the Day:

Is it responsible to ever release someone like Tyree Smith back into the public?

The report on Smith’s release said in part: “He denied experiencing cravings but stated that if they were to arise, he would reach out to his hospital and community supports and providers.”

Oh. I feel much better now.

Ethics Hero: Millikin University

/ Jack Marshall / 86 Comments

This story sounds like it was dreamed up for joint production of the Lifetime Movie Network and Chiller.

Above: The scene of Wolcott's mothers shooting; below, his father.

Above: The scene of Wolcott’s mothers shooting; below, his father.

Millikin University is a private institution in Decatur, Illinois with approximately 2400 students. It has been thrust into local headlines with the discovery that one of its psychology professors, James St. James, who heads the schools Department of Behavioral Sciences, murdered his parents and his older sister when he was 15. Then he was called James Gordon Wolcott.

He changed his name after being treated in a mental institution, where he was sent after being found not guilty of the crime because he was legally insane at the time of the killings. High from sniffing glue, the brilliant but emotionally disturbed teen grabbed a .22-caliber rifle, walked into the living room and shot his father, then shot his sister and his mother.

Six years after being sent to Rusk State Hospital,  Wolcott emerged apparent cured, and ready to lead a productive life. Ironically, his patricide and his insanity  had greased the way for his rehabilitation: he inherited his parents’ estate and was able to draw a monthly stipend from his father’s pension fund. Changing his name to St. James, he earned a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and a PhD, and became an award-winning professor at Millikin. Professor St. James’ secret was undiscovered until this year. He is now 61. Continue reading →