Schmitt Appealing Decision on Conditional Release Request

Former Effingham resident Gary Schmitt is appealing the decision denying him conditional release and more freedom.

(SCHMITT)

Schmitt was found not guilty by reason of insanity in October 2012 of murder and attempted murder in the death of his father in Effingham and attacks on a mother and daughter at their home in Edgewood.

Schmitt's attorney filed a request for conditional release in December 2018. Had the request been granted, Schmitt would be a candidate for a Community Release Program in Springfield. 

Judge Kimberly Koester, who has presided over Schmitt's case from the start, denied the request for conditional release in October. The judge wrote that "only further time with continued compliance and increasing privileges" will determine whether Schmitt "is truly in control of mental illness".

The ruling led to Schmitt's continued confinement in a program at McFarland Mental Health Center in Springfield.

The case will now be considered by the 5th District Appellate Court in Mt. Vernon.