Green Tree Mall shooter seeks release from mental hospital

Clark County

Discussion

June 11, 2010

Green Tree Mall shooter seeks release from mental hospital

State to oppose release when hearing continues June 30

By MATT THACKER Matt.Thacker@newsandtribune.com The News and Tribune Fri Jun 11, 2010, 02:50 PM EDT

JEFFERSONVILLE — A Clark County jury in January 2002 ruled that Alan Lee Berryman was not responsible for the murder of 35-year-old Keith Krieger by reason of insanity.

On Friday morning, attorneys for Berryman, now 44, asked Superior Court No. 1 Judge Vicki Carmichael to release the “Green Tree Mall shooter” from the custody of the Indiana Department of Health.

Krieger and his wife, Terri, had been at the Clarksville mall Nov. 3, 2001, and just finished their Christmas shopping. As the two were standing by their vehicle preparing to leave, Berryman approached them and reportedly said, “Your brother, the cop, set me up” and then shot Keith Krieger

Berryman then retreated to his home in New Albany, where police found his windows and ceiling covered in aluminum foil to keep the “radio waves from reaching his brain,” according to the Krieger family’s attorney, Larry Wilder.

Clark County Prosecutor Steve Stewart said an investigation revealed Krieger had no brother who was a police officer. Berryman later told investigators that he worked for the government and had been ordered to kill Krieger.

The two men only knew of each other in that both worked in the heating and air conditioning industry and had been at the same junket sponsored by a local HVAC supplier.

MENTAL STATE

Berryman’s attorney, Bart Betteau, asserted mental illness as a defense at trial. The jury found Berryman not responsible by reason of insanity.

The prosecutor’s office filed for a civil commitment, and Berryman has remained hospitalized ever since, but his attorneys say his mental state has improved.

“His mental illness is basically in remission because of treatment,” his attorney, Bruce Brightwell, said. “Based on the hospital’s evaluation, he wouldn’t have killed anybody if it wasn’t for the mental illness.”

Brightwell said Berryman was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, but he claims his client scores at the low end of all tests used to predict future violence. He said Berryman also has no incidents of violence or aggression in his eight years at the hospital.

The Indiana Attorney General’s Office now represents the state in the case and opposes Berryman’s release, as does the prosecutor’s office.

“I don’t think Mr. Berryman has shown anyone he deserves to rub elbows with us while we’re shopping at the mall,” Stewart said.

He said a ruling by Judge Jerome Jacobi prior to trial allowed Berryman to not cooperate with the state’s psychiatrist. Because of that, Stewart said he had no experts to testify that Berryman was not legally insane.

Meanwhile, Berryman’s attorneys were able to produce experts to testify Berryman was insane at the time of the shooting. Stewart said common sense goes out the window whenever psychology is introduced in a criminal trial.

“The whole criminal justice system is turned on its head when it comes to psychology,” Stewart said. “It’s not an exact science, and anyone with a license can give an opinion. Curiously enough, whoever pays for the opinion gets the opinion they want.”

RARE CASE

Stewart said that never during his 27 years with the prosecutor’s office — and to his knowledge never before in Clark County — has a jury ruled anyone but Berryman not responsible by mental insanity in a murder case. According to state statute, Berryman must be released if the judge finds him to be not mentally ill, not dangerous to himself or others and not gravely disabled.

A review of Berryman’s mental state is prepared every six months, but this is only the second time since the trial that Berryman has been granted a hearing before the judge, Stewart said.

“My heart goes out to Terri Krieger,” Stewart said. “She relives this whole ordeal every time it comes up for review.”

When asked if he believes someone who commits a crime like Berryman’s should ever be allowed to re-enter society, Stewart said, “Not in my mind.”

Carmichael heard initial remarks and testimony from one expert Friday morning. The hearing will resume June 30 with both sides expected to present experts.

Brightwell said the judge has options other than outright release. Berryman could be sent to a group home or another program which could supervise him as he transitions back into society.

“Because he was found not guilty because he was insane, the only reason to hold him after that was to provide him treatment and address the problem,” Brightwell said. “It’s just a shame that nobody had been able to catch his illness sooner.”

Terri Krieger has followed Berryman’s status closely. The trial court granted her access to Berryman’s mental health records until a 2003 Indiana Court of Appeals decision reversed the trial court’s order, ruling in part that Krieger’s need for the disclosure of the records did not outweigh the harm to Berryman from such disclosure.

Krieger, represented by Wilder, filed a lawsuit against the Green Tree Mall after the shooting, and the parties settled the “security” case in a confidential settlement.