Opinion ID: 2206054
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Matter of Richard S.

Text: The history of Richard S. is somewhat more complicated. In July 1980, Richard S. met a 15-year-old male, and took him to his home in Queens. After a night of sexual relations, appellant stabbed the young man with a pocket knife three times in the chest and back as he slept. Richard S. turned himself in and was charged with numerous crimes, including attempted murder in the second degree. At the time of his arrest, Richard S. was serving a five-year probationary manslaughter sentence for the 1978 killing of another young man who he had stabbed to death after sex. Richard S.'s probation was revoked and he was incarcerated pending a CPL article 730 competency hearing. This was the last time Richard S. was outside an institutional setting. After CPL article 730 examinations confirmed his competency to stand trial, Richard S. underwent an additional battery of psychiatric examinations focusing on his mental state at the time of the July 1980 stabbing. All the examining psychiatrists concurred that, at the time of the stabbing, Richard S. lacked the capacity to appreciate the nature and consequences of his actions and that he was in need of institutional treatment because of the danger he presented to himself and others. Upon an adjudication of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, he was committed to the custody of the Commissioner of Mental Health. Upon his arrival at Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Center (MHPC), a secure mental facility, two psychiatrists examined and diagnosed Richard S. with atypical psychosis, substance abuse disorder and a psychosexual disorder manifesting as ego-dystonic homosexuality. The doctors opined that Richard S. suffered from a dangerous mental disorder ( see CPL 330.20 [1] [c]) requiring commitment in a secure facility. He remained at MHPC until 1986. In 1986, while undergoing hypnotic therapy, Richard S. allegedly recalled bludgeoning a third young man to death in an alley in Queens. Appellant was tried and convicted of that murder and sentenced to a prison term of 25 years to life. This Court, focusing on the unreliability of hypnotically induced statements, in 1991 reversed that conviction ( People v Schreiner, 77 NY2d 733). Following dismissal of the murder indictment, Richard S. was transferred back to and retained at MHPC under a subsequent retention order pursuant to CPL 330.20 (9) stemming from the 1980 stabbing incident. [1] In February 1994, Supreme Court ordered the transfer of Richard S. to a non-secure facility ( People ex rel. Schreiner v Tekben, 160 Misc 2d 724 [1994], affd sub nom. People ex rel. Richard S. v Tekben, 219 AD2d 609, lv denied 87 NY2d 803 [1995]). Richard S. was subsequently transferred to the Middletown Psychiatric Center. Despite evidence of satisfactory progress in treatment and the beginning of a romantic relationship with a fellow patient, in 1996 appellant was found to be in possession of violent pornographic materials. At about the same time an informant was reputed to have alleged that appellant was planning an escape from Middletown in order to exact revenge upon a Queens Assistant District Attorney for a prior prosecution. Under an emergency transfer order pursuant to 14 NYCRR 57.2, in April 1996, Supreme Court returned Richard S. to secure commitment at MHPC. In October 1998, the Commissioner of Mental Health petitioned Supreme Court for a retention order at MHPC on the ground that Richard S. continued to suffer from a dangerous mental disorder. In extensive hearings, the Commissioner and the District Attorney presented evidence of appellant's violent history and more recent setbacks when transferred to a less secure facility. Richard S.'s evidence focused on his treatment progress and his efforts to behave in more socially acceptable ways. Particularly, he claims that he no longer associates sexual gratification with acts of extreme violence. Supreme Court found that he did not suffer from a dangerous mental disorder but that he did suffer from a mental illness which is presently in a state of remission and should be afforded an opportunity to live in a less secure environment. The court did not elaborate on the necessity of continued treatment or appellant's ability to understand the need for such treatment ( see CPL 330.20 [1] [d]). In affirming the hearing court's decision, the Appellate Division noted that the Commissioner failed to show by a preponderance of the evidence that Richard S.'s mental condition caused him to currently [constitute] a physical danger to himself or others as required by CPL 330.20 (1) (c) (ii), but, citing to CPL 330.20 (1) (c) (i), held that he should be retained in a non-secure facility because he still suffers from a `mental illness' ( Matter of Richard S., 278 AD2d 496, 497 [2000]). Richard S. appeals as of right on constitutional grounds pursuant to CPLR 5601 (b) (1).