Declared mentally unfit, what's next for man accused of killing Mouseketeer

MEDFORD, Ore. — The Jackson County District Attorney’s Office told NBC5 News it cannot speak to any ongoing case.

However, in cases where a person is facing serious felony charges and is deemed unfit to stand trial, the D.A.’s office says Oregon State Hospital officials would work to restore the person so they are fit to stand trial.

That includes training them to understand the legal process or seeing what kind of medications they may need for their mental illness; the process could take up to three years.

After that point, if the person is still not fit to proceed and the state can’t protest the finding, the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office says the person would be sent back to court and the case would be dismissed.

“There are people who are so severely mentally ill that they can’t ever be restored to competency,” said Benjamin Lull, Jackson County Deputy District Attorney. “You can’t, you know, punish someone into sanity. I guess, is the expression I’ve heard.”

He says if the case is dismissed, the person could be released. That’s even if they had been previously facing violent charges.

If the D.A.’s office believes they are an “extremely dangerous person,” Lull says another hearing would be held. The D.A.’s office would then have to prove the person is, in fact, dangerous enough.

If they were able to, the person would be institutionalized.