Judge Denies Petition for Conditional Release for Schmitt

Judge Kimberly Koester has denied Gary Schmitt's request for conditional discharge. The ruling means that Schmitt will remain at McFarland Center in Springfield and will continue undergoing treatment for schizophrenia.

Schmitt, an Effingham native, was charged with the murder of his father, Jack Schmitt, in Effingham in June 2010 and with the stabbings of Jodi Harris and her daughter, Lauren Huntington in January 2011. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity in October 2012.

Schmitt is being housed at McFarland. The evaluations since his time there have been good and Schmitt's defense counsel filed a motion last December for him to be given less supervision. Under the request, Schmitt would have been transferred to a group home setting in Springfield and would be in an unsupervised status. He would have to report in and document that he is taking medications to control his schizophrenia. The consensus when the case was originally decided was that Schmitt's schizophrenia led to his actions.

Effingham County State's Attorney Bryan Kibler at a hearing in June asked for a delay in a decision on the defense request, and for an independent evaluation of Schmitt outside of those who were involved in his treatment. Judge Koester granted the delay until late September. After hearing testimony from those caring for Schmitt and other evaluators, the judge took the matter under advisement and returned her written ruling late on Friday. Yesterday was a court holiday, so the decision was made available Tuesday morning.

Among those who testified at the September hearing was Andy Jolly, the director of the Community Conditional Release Program for which Schmitt was being recommended. Jolly's testimony was that Schmitt could have been in the program for up to five years. Jolly stated that participants in the program must check-in and check out, but the buildings are not secure.

The judge also took note of Schmitt's history of mental illness dating back to the 1980s, and also that Schmitt had been hospitalized three times or more between 2000 and 2002, but that 10 years lapsed before the incidents involving Schmitt's father, Harris and Huntington occurred.

Judge Koester also cited an Appellate Court case ruling that it is the Court and not the psychiatrists who are to consider the evidence in the case in rendering a decision. She also noted the testimony of one doctor who has worked with Schmitt who testified that he will never be cured.

In her decision, Judge Koester wrote "this Court notes that the (Community Release) program seems to not take seriously the potential for danger that this individual possesses." She also wrote "a factor that this Court find as controlling is the Defendant's potential to be a danger to himself or others" and "this Court considered the number of hospitalizations that the Defendant has had, the length of time between incidents and the increasing violence of the acts. This Court cannot conclude that after only six years of treatment, that the Defendant has shown that he would not benefit from in-patient treatment. Only with further time with continued compliance and increasing privileges will we see if the Defendant is truly in control of mental illness."