Athena
February 26th, 2008, 02:02 PM
Man ruled insane getting out in 5 after taking wife's life?
Man ruled insane 5 years ago is better now, doctors say
By HECTOR CASTRO
P-I REPORTER
Thomas Gene Gergen never denied he killed his pregnant wife, Kari, in the couple's Shoreline home early on Jan. 5, 2003. But after a series of mental evaluations at Western State Hospital, the courts determined Gergen was not guilty by reason of insanity, and he was committed to the custody of the hospital for treatment.
Now, five years later, Gergen, 35, might be set free, albeit under tight supervision.
Thursday, at a hearing in King County Superior Court, a judge will consider whether Gergen's mental health has improved enough for him to move off the Western State campus and into an apartment attached to his mother's Lakewood home. It's a move Gergen's doctors and his lawyer said he is ready to make, but it's a move the victim's family opposes.
"He's not cured. He's not curable," said Kari's father, John Osterhaug. "He's prone to murder. You don't cure that."
~ snip ~
After the shooting, the immediate reaction of Kari Osterhaug's family was not just grief but also sympathy for Gergen, whom they had liked, and his family. It was why they did not push prosecutors to seek a criminal trial that could have ended with Gergen in prison. "I didn't want to hurt them," Ingrid Osterhaug said, referring to Gergen's family. Both said they believed Gergen would be better off in a mental hospital, rather than a prison.
Although they felt he needed treatment, both parents said they were told by prosecutors and victim advocates that such treatment would take years, up to 20, or nearly as long as a criminal sentence would have been had Gergen been convicted at trial.
"I think we were misled as to Tom's fate," Ingrid Osterhaug said. "I never would have gone without a trial if I had known he was going to be out on the streets again."
Lichtenstadter said his client is ready to live in the community again. Gergen now knows he has a mental illness and is committed to taking his medications, largely because of his own remorse over the murders he committed, the attorney said.
"It's a horrific tragedy. He doesn't mince words about what happened. It's something he lives with every day," Lichtenstadter said. "All he wants to make sure is that he's safe." But Osterhaug's parents remain unconvinced and pin their hopes on delaying, for as long as they can, Gergen's full release into the community. "He will be a model patient until the time comes that he meets another woman," Ingrid Osterhaug said. "And God help her."
Full Story (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/352688_gergen26.html?source=rss)
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Should allowances be made for mentally ill offenders? Should they be released simply because they were impaired at the time of the offense?
I believe that protecting the populace should be the justice system's primary purpose. In the event that a life was taken, I don't believe there is justification to risk reoffense, no matter what state the offender was in at the time of the offense and no matter how small the risk is.
Man ruled insane 5 years ago is better now, doctors say
By HECTOR CASTRO
P-I REPORTER
Thomas Gene Gergen never denied he killed his pregnant wife, Kari, in the couple's Shoreline home early on Jan. 5, 2003. But after a series of mental evaluations at Western State Hospital, the courts determined Gergen was not guilty by reason of insanity, and he was committed to the custody of the hospital for treatment.
Now, five years later, Gergen, 35, might be set free, albeit under tight supervision.
Thursday, at a hearing in King County Superior Court, a judge will consider whether Gergen's mental health has improved enough for him to move off the Western State campus and into an apartment attached to his mother's Lakewood home. It's a move Gergen's doctors and his lawyer said he is ready to make, but it's a move the victim's family opposes.
"He's not cured. He's not curable," said Kari's father, John Osterhaug. "He's prone to murder. You don't cure that."
~ snip ~
After the shooting, the immediate reaction of Kari Osterhaug's family was not just grief but also sympathy for Gergen, whom they had liked, and his family. It was why they did not push prosecutors to seek a criminal trial that could have ended with Gergen in prison. "I didn't want to hurt them," Ingrid Osterhaug said, referring to Gergen's family. Both said they believed Gergen would be better off in a mental hospital, rather than a prison.
Although they felt he needed treatment, both parents said they were told by prosecutors and victim advocates that such treatment would take years, up to 20, or nearly as long as a criminal sentence would have been had Gergen been convicted at trial.
"I think we were misled as to Tom's fate," Ingrid Osterhaug said. "I never would have gone without a trial if I had known he was going to be out on the streets again."
Lichtenstadter said his client is ready to live in the community again. Gergen now knows he has a mental illness and is committed to taking his medications, largely because of his own remorse over the murders he committed, the attorney said.
"It's a horrific tragedy. He doesn't mince words about what happened. It's something he lives with every day," Lichtenstadter said. "All he wants to make sure is that he's safe." But Osterhaug's parents remain unconvinced and pin their hopes on delaying, for as long as they can, Gergen's full release into the community. "He will be a model patient until the time comes that he meets another woman," Ingrid Osterhaug said. "And God help her."
Full Story (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/352688_gergen26.html?source=rss)
.........................................
Should allowances be made for mentally ill offenders? Should they be released simply because they were impaired at the time of the offense?
I believe that protecting the populace should be the justice system's primary purpose. In the event that a life was taken, I don't believe there is justification to risk reoffense, no matter what state the offender was in at the time of the offense and no matter how small the risk is.