Galloway v. State

• Decision Date: 26 January 2010
• Docket Number: No. 33A01-0906-CR-280.,33A01-0906-CR-280.
• Citation: 920 N.E.2d 711
• Parties: Gregory L. GALLOWAY, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

920 N.E.2d 711

Gregory L. GALLOWAY, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.

No. 33A01-0906-CR-280.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

January 26, 2010.

Stacy R. Uliana, Indianapolis, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

Gregory F. Zoeller, Attorney General of Indiana, Angela N. Sanchez, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

BAKER, Chief Judge.

Appellant-defendant Gregory L. Galloway appeals his conviction for Murder,¹ a felony. Galloway argues that he should have been acquitted based on his defense of insanity and that the trial court erred by finding him guilty but mentally ill. Finding that we are compelled by our Supreme Court's opinion in Thompson v. State, 804 N.E.2d 1146 (Ind.2004), to affirm, we do so.

FACTS

Galloway's History of Mental Illness

As the trial court found, Galloway

was first evaluated at the age of 17 and given a diagnosis of adjustment disorder with disturbance of conduct. Counseling was recommended. His mental health treatment continued, unabated, during his entire adult life. His psychotic episodes increased in duration and frequency despite effort at stabilization through antipsychotic medication. [Galloway] lacks insight into the need for his prescribed medication.

Appellant's App. p. 255. Since Galloway was in high school, his parents had attempted to have him institutionalized many times but were unable to find an institution in Indiana that provided long-term secure care. By 2007, twenty different physicians had diagnosed Galloway with bipolar disorder, often with severe psychotic and manic symptoms. As Galloway grew older, his psychotic symptoms increased. Galloway has been committed on a short-term basis over twenty times, but was always released back to his parents after two weeks of care.

A year after high school, Galloway got married and eventually had three children. His mental health continued to deteriorate, making it difficult to hold a job or stay married. He also struggled with substance abuse. In 2000, Galloway and his wife divorced, and he moved in with his grandmother, who lived next door to his parents. Galloway and his grandmother had an excellent relationship and he loved her very much. Over the next five years, Galloway had about twenty jobs, and eventually began receiving Social Security benefits because of his mental illness. Beginning in 2001, Galloway experienced a series of psychotic episodes that began to increase in frequency and severity. For example:

• On April 11, 2001, Galloway received 29 stitches on his forearm. When he returned home, he flew into a rage, broke glass, took pictures of the wall, and yelled at his grandmother.

• A few weeks later, Galloway believed the television was talking to him and that he could read minds and others could read his. He was voluntarily admitted to the psychiatric unit at Ball Memorial Hospital.

• In February 2002, Galloway's parents found him with a gun, looking for ammunition. He planned to kill his grandmother because she was the devil, and he planned to kill his neighbor, whom Galloway believed was controlling his son. His parents took him to the emergency room, where he hit his father and had to be restrained by police. He was paranoid and believed that there was cocaine in the air. His parents involuntarily committed him but he was released in early March.

• On March 29, 2002, Galloway followed a woman he believed to be a relative. She became frightened and went to a State Police Post. Galloway followed her inside, and the police subsequently took him to Wishard Hospital, where he was admitted and remained until April 10. Galloway was transferred to the more restrictive Richmond State Hospital, where he remained until August 7, 2002.

• On April 4, 2003, Galloway's parents sought treatment for him because he had not slept in a week and was becoming disruptive. When he arrived at the hospital, he was psychotic and believed he was there to get a gap in his teeth fixed. He was committed for ten days.

• On June 30, 2004, Galloway's mother received a call from a nurse at a hospital in Ohio, explaining that Galloway was in the hospital and disoriented. Earlier that day, Galloway believed that God had told him to leave his job. He then drove to Dayton and ended up in a stranger's driveway, looking for the perfect wife for the son of God. After being committed to the hospital, Galloway believed that he had a magic key and his doctor was the devil.

• A few weeks after his release, Galloway stopped his truck in the middle of I-69 and got out. He believed that Saddam Hussein proceeded to escort him to the Lebanon Police Department. He was admitted to a hospital and released one week later.

• On July 21, 2005, Galloway believed his mother was the devil and he wanted to kill her. He ended up in a car chase with his mother, crashing when he drove through a curve too quickly. When he was admitted to the hospital, he stated he was an alien and protected from harm.

• On May 10, 2006, Galloway broke into his mother's room, threatened to kill her, and had to be restrained by his father. He was committed to Richmond State Hospital. When he was admitted, he believed that he had been shot in the forehead and bitten by a poisonous snake. He tested positive for cocaine and was evaluated to be homicidal. He was released a few days later.

• On January 18, 2007, Galloway stopped his car on the interstate near Lafayette, got out of his car, and began yelling and talking to himself, threatening bystanders. Police officers escorted him to the emergency room, where he was mumbling to himself, aggressive towards the staff, and reacting to visual and auditory hallucinations. He was admitted into the hospital for a few days.

• On March 11, 2007, Galloway had refused to sleep or eat for a week because he was afraid something bad would happen to him. He crashed through his grandmother's back window when he was locked out and had to be taken to the hospital because he had sustained cuts to his stomach. He was admitted to the hospital for four days. He was then transferred to an Anderson hospital, where he was in a borderline catatonic state and detached from reality. He was released after four days.

• Three days later, on March 23, 2007, Galloway did not know who or where he was. He had been staying awake all night and sleeping in his parents' bed because he believed someone was in his room. He was hearing voices. He was involuntarily committed and diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder, bipolar type, and found to be a danger to himself. He stayed in the hospital for less than one week.

• In June 2007, Galloway's parents received a call from Tennessee authorities. The police had found Galloway in his semi, hauling gasoline and threatening to drive it into a gas station and blow it up. He was talking to himself, had benzodiazepine and cocaine in his system, and had not slept for three days. He was homicidal and suicidal. He stayed in a Tennessee institution for four days.

The Murder

During the week leading up to October 26, 2007, Galloway exhibited more strange behavior. He heard voices and thought his grandmother's trailer was haunted. He slept on the floor next to his parents' bed, holding his mother's hand, because he was afraid of a ghost at his grandmother's home. On the night of October 25, 2007, Galloway did not sleep. He drank a pint of whiskey, stopping around 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning.

The morning of October 26, 2007, Galloway was feeling a little strange. His friend called because Galloway was supposed to pick him up from work, but Galloway belligerently refused to do so, and uncharacteristically yelled at his friend. At some point, Galloway and his father had a conversation. Galloway's father was concerned because Galloway was not acting normal and seemed to be in another world.

Around 1:00 p.m., Galloway went to a store with his aunt and his grandmother, and they shopped without incident. Then, they went to lunch without any arguments. On the way home, they stopped at the gas station and his grandmother said she had had a wonderful day.

When they arrived home, Galloway's aunt and grandmother sat on the couch and talked while Galloway went outside. Galloway's fifteen-year-old son, Cory, arrived and said "hi" to his dad, who was sitting on the porch swing. Cory could tell that his father was not in a normal state of mind. Galloway went into the house, followed by his father. Galloway walked into his bedroom, got his knife, and walked back down the hallway. He had a "wild look" in his eyes. Tr. p. 60. He straddled his grandmother and stabbed her in the chest, yelling, "you are going to die, I told you, you're the devil." Id. at 50, 74-75. Galloway's father yelled, "What have you done," to which Galloway responded that she "was going to kill me." Id. at 85.

Galloway's father ordered Galloway to give him the knife, and he complied. While the family waited for the ambulance to arrive, Galloway told his grandmother that he loved her, it would be okay, and he did not mean to do it. Galloway's aunt told him to stay on the swing outside and not leave. He complied. When the ambulance arrived, he pleaded with the paramedics to save his grandmother because he loved her. He told the sheriff's deputies that he loved his grandmother and would not hurt her. While in the police car, Galloway did not understand what was happening and asked where he was going. Galloway's grandmother eventually died from the stab wounds.

Later that evening, the police interviewed Galloway and he cooperated. He said that he loved his grandmother with all his heart and that she had helped him more than anything. He stated that he had not done any illegal drugs for two weeks and had not taken his prescription medications for two days, although he was supposed to take them twice a day.

Galloway told the police that his father had "persuaded [him] to kill [his] grandmother" when he was sitting on the swing...