Viers v. State, WD
| Citation | 956 S.W.2d 465 |
| Decision Date | 16 December 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. WD,WD |
| Parties | Charles VIERS, Appellant, v. STATE of Missouri, Respondent. 53401. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
Margaret M. Johnston, Public Defender, Fulton, for Appellant.
Mark Tracy, Asst. Pros. Atty., Callaway County, Fulton, for Respondent.
Before SMART, P.J., and LOWENSTEIN and LAURA DENVIR STITH, JJ.
Viers, incarcerated in the Fulton State Hospital of the Department of Mental Health, sought a conditional release under special conditions, such as living in a supportive community living facility, under § 552.040.9, RSMo 1994. The trial court denied his application saying Viers did not prove by clear and convincing evidence that he would not present a danger to others, noting that Viers had never accepted responsibility for his crime. Viers has appealed. The prosecutor has not presented the court with a brief. The trial court's decision as to whether the conditions for conditional release have been satisfied will not be reversed unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, it is against the weight of the evidence, or it erroneously declares or applies the law. McKee v. State, 923 S.W.2d 525, 526 (Mo.App.1996). The ultimate question for the trial court on a conditional release application from a mental health facility, and which a specific finding must be made, "is whether the person is likely to be dangerous to others while on conditional release, and whether such person is likely, in the reasonable future, to commit another crime because of mental illness." Id. at 527. A conditional release under § 552.040.9 "impliedly recognizes" the applicant is "still suffering from a mental disease or defect." Styles v. State, 838 S.W.2d 10, 11 (Mo.App.1992).
Viers was admitted to the Department in 1979 following his plea of not guilty by reason of his not being responsible because of mental disease or defect, for the murder of his fifteen year-old brother. See § 552.030 RSMo 1994. His diagnosed mental illness was paranoid schizophrenia. The only witness, Dr. Ponce, a physician at the Fulton hospital, gave a somewhat conflicting testimony on Viers' present medical diagnosis. The doctor said the patient exhibited no present signs of paranoia, and that although Viers showed anxiety, his anxiety did not rise to the level of being a paranoid schizophrenic. He was not sure Viers would presently be dangerous to other people. Viers had continued to suffer from mental illness until some eight months prior when he was treated with monthly doses of an antipsychotic medication. Ponce testified it was not...
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State, v. Revels
...App. 1995); McKee v. State, 923 S.W.2d 525, 527 [5] (Mo. App. 1996); Marsh v. State, 942 S.W.2d 385, 388 [2] (Mo. App. 1997); Viers v. State, 956 S.W.2d 465, 466-67 [4] (Mo. App. 1997); Rawlings v. State, 1999 WL 988094, *5 [3] (Mo. App. 1999). The Styles I opinion does not control Revels' ......
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Rawlings, Jr. v. State
...it is a denial of due process to restrain a harmless, mentally ill person. State v. Nash, 972 S.W.2d 479 (Mo. App. 1998); Viers v. State, 956 S.W.2d 465 (Mo. App. 1997); Stallworth v. State, 895 S.W.2d 656 (Mo. App. Here, it is undisputed that the trial court did not make an express written......
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State v. Halbrook, ED74788
...not Halbrook was suffering from a mental disease or defect at the time of the hearing documented in the Order. See Viers v. State, 956 S.W.2d 465, 466 (Mo. App. W.D. 1997). The hearing court's failure to make a specific finding on whether or not Halbrook suffered from a mental disease or de......