Barisone Aftermath: Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity, And Then

[MHM]

For those who have missed the previous discussions, on April 14th, Michael Barisone (MB) was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted murder and related weapon charge regarding Lauren Kanarek (LK), and just plain not guilty for the similar charges regarding Lauren Kanarek’s boyfriend, Rob Goodwin (RG).

MB is supposed to go to a mental health facility to have his mental condition evaluated regarding whether or not he is a danger to himself and the community, but as of today, two weeks after the verdict, he is still in jail, presumably due to a lack of available space at the mental health facility.

There is no word yet on when he will be moved. He was supposed to return to court on May 17th for a hearing regarding his mental evaluation, but it is unknown how that date may be delayed due to the current situation.

If anyone would like to write to MB at the jail, I will include the address below along with the rules regarding acceptable mail there.

I will also put up the addresses for his two attorneys. Mr. Bilinkas is willing to accept cards through the mail on MB’s behalf, which MB may be able to receive at a different location once he leaves the jail.

[BigMama1]

Is there a way for people to flood the state with calls and letters protesting the fact he is still incarcerated? Surely that violates his civil rights in some way?

[Rallycairn]

Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity does not lead to the same immediate outcome as Not Guilty. Barisone was charged with a violent crime involving use of a firearm. In cases like that, a person is usually sent to an inpatient forensic facility for some time. Maximum, possibly medium, security at first would be my guess – again, violent crime was involved. There patients will have annual psych evaluations, and if/when they are deemed less likely to be a danger to themselves or others, will probably move from more restrictive to less restrictive inpatient settings, to some sort of stepdown facility, to less supervised treatment, and so on. That’s just describing what generally happens in these types of cases – not speaking specifically to Barisone.

[BigMama1]

Not arguing with that. And yet, due to a lack of beds at the psych facility he is supposed to be at, he is still sitting in the same jail where he’s been for nearly 3 years. Not a prison with programs, outdoor time, etc. but a jail designed for short-term remand.

[lazaret]

It’s also not legal in NJ for a defendant found NGRI to be incarcerated in a penal facility for any duration of a forced commitment.

It’s also possible that he is found not a danger to himself or others at his first evaluation and is released to a family member for care in an outpatient setting. Maximum security psych facilities don’t generally like to keep nominally healthy people there.

[eggbutt]

@MHM

For those who have missed the previous discussions, on April 14th, Michael Barisone (MB) was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted murder and related weapon charge regarding Lauren Kanarek (LK), and just plain not guilty for the similar charges regarding Lauren Kanarek’s boyfriend, Rob Goodwin (RG).

MB is supposed to go to a mental health facility to have his mental condition evaluated regarding whether or not he is a danger to himself and the community, but as of today, two weeks after the verdict, he is still in jail, presumably due to a lack of available space at the mental health facility.

There is no word yet on when he will be moved. He was supposed to return to court on May 17th for a hearing regarding his mental evaluation, but it is unknown how that date may be delayed due to the current situation.

If anyone would like to write to MB at the jail, I will include the address below along with the rules regarding acceptable mail there.

I will also put up the addresses for his two attorneys. Mr. Bilinkas is willing to accept cards through the mail on MB’s behalf, which MB may be able to receive at a different location once he leaves the jail.

looks like I have lost my responsibility of official thread starter! The Kanareks will be pleased.

[Rallycairn]

Possible, but very unlikely. He shot someone, and his legal team argued it was due to insanity - a legal rather than psychological term, to be sure, but the basic argument is that he was mentally ill enough not to be held accountable for/found guilty of a very violent criminal act.

If you are so mentally ill that you are NGRI for shooting someone, how can you be well enough to immediately go home, even with outpatient care? You aren’t, by your own legal team’s argument, “nominally healthy” – quite the opposite. And the state has accepted that argument, and agreed you were NGRI. To turn right around and say you are okay to be released immediately would be inconsistent. And the liability any professional, and the state, would take on for immediately recommending discharge for someone NGRI of a violent act is enormous. The usual course is for a demonstrated period of stable behavior before release, via stepdown through various types of facilities.

[eggbutt]

@Rallycairn

Possible, but very unlikely. He shot someone, and his legal team argued it was due to insanity - a legal rather than psychological term, to be sure, but the basic argument is that he was mentally ill enough not to be held accountable for/found guilty of a very violent criminal act.

If you are so mentally ill that you are NGRI for shooting someone, how can you be well enough to immediately go home, even with outpatient care? You aren’t, by your own legal team’s argument, “nominally healthy” – quite the opposite. And the state has accepted that argument, and agreed you were NGRI. To turn right around and say you are okay to be released immediately would be inconsistent. And the liability any professional, and the state, would take on for immediately recommending discharge for someone NGRI of a violent act is enormous. The usual course is for a demonstrated period of stable behavior before release, via stepdown through various types of facilities.

Considering Barisone has been incarcerated for 2 1/2 years without incident, and was deemed sane enough to stand trial many months ago, it is highly likely he may he eligible for release pending evaluation by the state under the care of private mental health experts coupled with required checking, etc sooner than later. Lay people without any credentials in mental health issues who have not examined MB, may be properly advised to refrain from predicting the future for him. None of us have any idea what the state facility may recommend to the court, if he finally arrives at whatever facility is selected. It is punitive for him to still be incarcerated in the local jail two weeks after a NGI verdict.

[Rallycairn]

No one has predicted the future for him, only spoken in generalities – people NGRI for violent crime do not typically get released right away. And it’s an internally inconsistent argument to make, and therefore harder to make convincingly – you were ill enough to be found NGRI just now in court, but even so, you are fine to go home (even with supervision)? It’s a hard sell. May not be impossible, but hard, especially with the danger to self and others issues inherent in any violent crime case.

You said he’s “highly likely” to may be eligible for release – anything’s possible, but that is not what typically occurs re: violent crime.

Also, you aren’t “sane enough” to stand trial – it’s trial competency, and a different issue.

Has any source released why he is still awaiting evaluation? If his next court appearance is set for May 17th like the original post noted, surely they will have him evaluated by then.

[Angela_Freda]

@Rallycairn

Has any source released why he is still awaiting evaluation? If his next court appearance is set for May 17th like the original post noted, surely they will have him evaluated by then.

Because Anne Klein is so full that they don’t have beds, MB is still, two weeks later, sitting in a jail.
Contrary to NJ state laws/regulations.

.

[eggbutt]

@Rallycairn

Has any source released why he is still awaiting evaluation? If his next court appearance is set for May 17th like the original post noted, surely they will have him evaluated by then.

Supposedly there is no room at the inn so to speak so he continues to languish away in jail. It seems the State isn’t in any particular hurry and is still enjoying getting their pound of flesh. Additional legal action may be the next step.

[yaya]

@Rallycairn

you were ill enough to be found NGRI just now in court, but even so, you are fine to go home (even with supervision)?

But the NGRI finding was with respect to the time of the shooting and the events surrounding it. That was 2 1/2 years ago. The situation is different now, and even without mental health treatment while he has been in jail, he may not be in the same condition today as he was then.

[lazaret]

@Rallycairn

You aren’t, by your own legal team’s argument, “nominally healthy” – quite the opposite.

No. The argument is that, at the time of the event, you weren’t. It has nothing to do with presently “aren’t.” The only relevant time was the time of the action that you were found not guilty of.

Even so, it is not legal to keep someone found not guilty in a penal facility. He was not responsible, there is no punishment.

The standard is release to the least restrictive environment possible.

[RND]

@Rallycairn

No one has predicted the future for him, only spoken in generalities – people NGRI for violent crime do not typically get released right away. And it’s an internally inconsistent argument to make, and therefore harder to make convincingly – you were ill enough to be found NGRI just now in court, but even so, you are fine to go home (even with supervision)? It’s a hard sell. May not be impossible, but hard, especially with the danger to self and others issues inherent in any violent crime case.

You said he’s “highly likely” to may be eligible for release – anything’s possible, but that is not what typically occurs re: violent crime.

Also, you aren’t “sane enough” to stand trial – it’s trial competency, and a different issue.

Has any source released why he is still awaiting evaluation? If his next court appearance is set for May 17th like the original post noted, surely they will have him evaluated by then.

You probably have noticed this already, but this type of unbiased, fact based post is not at all welcomed here.

@yaya

But the NGRI finding was with respect to the time of the shooting and the events surrounding it . That was 2 1/2 years ago. The situation is different now, and even without mental health treatment while he has been in jail, he may not be in the same condition today as he was then.

Yes, during the trial he certainly looked like someone who is mentally stable and ready to be released back into society with minimal supervision. Don’t you all agree?

[trubandloki]

@RND

unbiased,

You have an interesting theory on unbiased.

[RND]

@trubandloki

You have an interesting theory on unbiased.

What is it specifically about Rallycairn’s posts that you find are biased?

[FitzE]

What is it specifically about the highly fact-based, completely unbiased posts explaining myriad legal procedural details that the litigators and court professionals have generously provided here that you find unwelcome? Is it that they often contradict your own legal knowledge gained through the internet, or what exactly? The majority of posters find these posts, of which there are many, very welcome indeed!

Also, you misunderstand tubanloki’s post (probably purposefully): she’s not saying she finds Rallycairn’s posts biased. It’s a ‘read for comprehension’ thing.

If you’re not faking your misunderstanding, think on it a moment. It’ll come to you.

[lazaret]

@RND

Yes, during the trial he certainly looked like someone who is mentally stable and ready to be released back into society with minimal supervision. Don’t you all agree?

No, I don’t agree that someone’s appearance at trial is any reflection of who they are as a person. If that were the case Jodi Arias is a middle aged grandma and Casey Anthony is a young business professional. We know both of those things aren’t true.

I guarantee you there are people looking very similar wandering around your local Walmart or grocery store, and nobody thinks they need to be involuntarily committed. You can be mentally ill and not be detained in a maximum security psychiatric facility. There’s a gulf approximately the size of the Atlantic Ocean between those outcomes, with many possibilities in between. Conditional release is entirely possible.

[FitzE]

You can also manifest EXTREME stress as you sit in a courtroom and wait to hear your fate and relive the mental anguish that two/three people put you through in their plan to ‘destroy’ you and ‘finish the bastard’.

Then, when that is over, and you are found not guilty, some of that overwhelming stress and anxiety can lift as the two pathological liars who concocted and conducted that plan were found to be largely if not entirely unreliable by a jury of their peers.

[Angela_Freda]

Yes, I would think that the undeniable revelation of what these three did to MB, seen by so very many in his community, would be a huge step forward in terms of restoring his mental health.

As one expert asserted, his delusions were largely reinforced because at least one aspect of these delusions actually were factual and true.