State health department receiving $21M grant to combat drug overdoses
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded the Indiana State Department of Health a three-year, $21 million grant to help prevent and detect drug overdoses.
mental health
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Man accused of strangling mom found incompetent for trial
A judge has ruled a Fort Wayne man who told police that he was possessed by demons and Adolf Hitler when he allegedly strangled his mother isn’t competent to stand trial.
Woman freed after murder conviction vacated in 2001 slaying
An Indiana woman who successfully argued she had ineffective legal counsel at her murder trial for the 2001 slaying of her boyfriend in Lafayette during a sex game has been released.
Vincennes father gets 65-year term for son’s strangulation
A judge has sentenced a southwestern Indiana man to 65 years in prison for fatally strangling his 5-year-old son. The sentencing on Friday came after 55-year-old Robert Baldwin of Vincennes pleaded guilty but mentally ill in June for Gabriel Baldwin’s 2017 death.
Psych exam sought for trucker charged in fatal Indianapolis crash
A defense attorney is seeking a psychiatric exam for the semi driver charged with causing a highway construction zone crash in Indianapolis that killed a woman and her 18-month-old twin daughters. Defense attorney Jack Crawford says he’s seeking medical records from when Bruce Pollard said he suffered serious head injuries four years ago.
Psych exam ordered for man accused of firing gun at VA hospital
A federal judge has ordered a mental health evaluation for an Indianapolis man accused of opening fire at a Chicago veterans hospital earlier this month.
Jury selection begins for Clark County man accused of murder, cannibalism
Jury selection began Monday in the trial of a southern Indiana man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body nearly five years ago. Prosecutors say Joseph Oberhansley, 38, broke into the Jeffersonville home of his 46-year-old ex-girlfriend, Tammy Jo Blanton, in September 2014, and then raped her, fatally stabbed her and ate parts of her body.
Indiana gets $8.4M from HHS to fight opioid epidemic
A federal agency has awarded Indiana $8.4 million to help fight the opioid epidemic by boosting access to substance abuse treatment and mental health services.
7th Circuit vacates denial of disability benefits to woman with mental illness
A bipolar woman’s application for disability benefits will be reconsidered after the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded an administrative law judge failed to consider her treating psychiatrist’s opinions in its denial.
Fort Wayne man guilty of killing 4 sentenced to 300 years
A Fort Wayne man who pleaded guilty to four counts of murder in the deaths of four people, including his unborn child, was sentenced to 300 years in prison.
Boy who shot trooper dad to get mental health treatment
An Indiana boy who authorities say shot and wounded his state-trooper father because he was upset that his parents took away his video games will get mental health treatment at a secure facility.
Murtaugh: Big law mental health media coverage soars in 2019
Within legal media, mental health made the jump from invisible to mainstream this year. There is now compelling evidence that it is OK for attorneys to talk about their mental health struggles publicly or disclose them to their employers.
COA: Claim of man killed by kick falls under Medical Malpractice Act
A man’s estate could not convince an appellate panel that a psychiatric center where he was staying was liable for his death based on the theory of premises liability after he died from injuries sustained after he was kicked by an employee.
Elkhart man revives efforts for new trial in 2002 murder
A mentally disabled man serving a 55-year prison sentence for an Elkhart murder 17 years ago that he maintains he did not commit is reviving his efforts for post-conviction relief, presenting new evidence in a petition he claims exonerates him.
Father loses custody appeal despite consideration of active-duty status
An Indiana trial court improperly considered a father’s active duty status when awarding custody of his child to his estranged wife, but that error does not change the custody determination, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
Teen convicted of murder wins resentencing due to ineffective counsel
A man who as a 16-year-old received a 181-year sentence for murder in entitled to a new sentencing hearing. The Indiana Court of Appeals concluded the Lake County teen was denied effective trial counsel during his sentencing hearing.
‘Insanity’ judgments excluded ‘convictions’ under expungement statute, COA rules
An appellate panel has determined that individuals adjudicated as not responsible by reason of insanity may not have that finding expunged from their records pursuant to Indiana Code section 35-38-9- 1. It thus rejected a man’s request to have his murder charge removed from his record.
COA reduces counts in armed burglary of elderly Franklin couple
A man’s burglary conviction has been reduced from a Level 1 felony after he broke into an elderly couple’s Franklin home and bound them at gunpoint before stealing weapons, money and their car. An appellate panel concluded that injury to the elderly man’s mind did not qualify as a bodily injury.
Man with intellectual disability freed from death sentence
An Arkansas man sentenced to death for murdering a teenage girl in Texas 25 years ago has been granted his petition for habeas corpus after a federal judge determined him to be ineligible for the death penalty due to his intellectual disability. The man will be resentenced in Texas.
Appellate panel considers med-mal claim in wrongful death suit
An appellate panel considered Wednesday whether a healthcare facility employee’s act of kicking a resident, resulting in his death, could be shielded from liability under the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act.