A Bulloch County jail inmate bit off part of his own tongue and gouged out his own eyeballs. A court ruled he’s competent to stand trial and is not legally insane.
Judge Matthew Hube said the court found Keller “not mentally ill at the time of the alleged offenses” and “currently competent to stand trial.”
The man is accused of stabbing a man who was discovered deceased on I-16 in October 2024. According to the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), the victim sustained injuries to his torso, head, hands, arms, and neck area. The defendant, who was staying at a hotel off Highway 201 South and I-16, was taken into custody after a brief pursuit.
The Feb. 10 order said two doctors examined the defendant. Dr. Jeremy Gay testified the defendant’s self-harm was not relevant to his criminal responsibility evaluation because it happened after the alleged criminal activity, adding that the defendant was not suffering from a delusional compulsion at the time of the alleged crime and was able to distinguish right from wrong. The order also said Dr. Fass found the defendant competent to stand trial at the time of his evaluation, since the man was not on psychotropic medication and, as of January 2026, did not present symptoms of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.
The order also included testimony from two jailers who said the defendant told them he wanted to go to a medical prison, was not mentally ill, and said he claimed to hear voices “to cover his ass.”
Significantly, Judge Hube noted that the defendant followed the proceedings and interacted with his attorneys.
Mental Health and Criminal Law in Georgia
According to some statistics, over 40 percent of jail and prison inmates have a mental health issue such as:
- Major Depressive Disorder (MDD),
- Substance addiction,
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), or
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
This proportion, which is significantly higher than the overall proportion, began growing in the 1980s. Politicians released many people from mental institutions, rightly claiming that these individuals were institutionalized at least partially against their will.
Deinstitutionalization seemed like a good idea at the time. Politicians and mental health proponents alike wanted to move away from the straitjacket mentality that had been so prevalent to that point. Indeed, many released individuals successfully re-integrated into society or moved in with family. But many other individuals didn’t re-integrate and had no place to go.
As a result, jails and prisons have become de facto mental health institutions for many displaced people. Correctional facilities, however, are often ill-equipped to provide adequate psychiatric care. In fact, the isolation and stress of incarceration, along with the limited treatment options available at such facilities, often worsen psychiatric symptoms.
The system itself contributes to these difficulties. The criminal justice system is designed to punish offenders, not treat sick people.
Competency to Stand Trial
Mental disorders, like the ones mentioned above, are sometimes so bad that defendants are legally incompetent to stand trial. Competency, or the lack thereof, measures defendants’ present ability to understand their current conundrums.
To determine competency, Georgia courts follow the standard established by the Supreme Court of the United States in Dusky v. United States. Competent defendants have:
- A rational and factual understanding of the court process, and
- The ability to consult with their lawyers with a reasonable degree of rational understanding.
In the above story, the defendant appears to be competent to stand trial, as noted by the judge. Instead, most incompetent defendants are off their medications and their MDD, GAD, or other mental illness symptoms are out of control.
If the court finds the defendant is incompetent to stand trial, s/he is remitted into custody until s/he regains competency.
Legal Insanity
Until the 1980s, “the insanity plea” was a common tactic for Marietta criminal defense lawyers. Then, in 1981, a deranged John Hinkley shot and nearly killed President Ronald Reagan. A court subsequently ruled that Hinkley was not guilty by reason of insanity. Even though he was clearly ill and spent the next twenty-plus years in a secure mental facility, many people believed that Hinkley played the system and avoided responsibility for his crime.
As a result, lawmakers changed the insanity defense in federal court. Most states, including Georgia, soon followed suit. However, Georgia didn’t quite fall in line with everyone else, making insanity pleas in criminal cases especially complex in Cobb County. Today, a defendant is insane if, at the time of the offense:
- M’Naghten Rule: This common law rule states that individuals are not responsible for criminal acts if, by reason of mental disease or defect, they did not know the difference between right and wrong at the time. A Marietta criminal defense lawyer must partner with at least one psychiatrist to establish this defense.
- Delusional Compulsion: Under O.C.G.A. § 16-3-3, a defendant may be found not guilty by reason of insanity if they acted under a delusional compulsion that overmastered their will, and the act would have been justified if the delusional facts were true.
A delusional compulsion is a variant of the old irresistible impulse defense which saved a young Ben Gazzara from the electric chair in the 1959 classic lawyer movie Anatomy of a Murder.
Incidentally, the actor who played the judge in that movie, Joseph Welch, was a real-life judge and former government lawyer who famously called out Senator Joe McCarthy during televised hearings in the 1950s. But we digress.
Additionally, Georgia law allows a court to return a verdict of Guilty But Mentally Ill (GBMI). The defendant is guilty (criminally responsible) but is able to receive mental health treatment while incarcerated. A Marietta criminal defense lawyer often uses this option if the defendant doesn’t meet the legal insanity test but clearly needs help.
Voluntary Intoxication
On a related mental health note, voluntary intoxication could be a defense in specific intent crimes (the defendant intends the conduct and the result), such as:
- Burglary (Entering a building and intending to commit a felony or theft inside),
- Theft by Taking (Taking property with the intent to deprive the owner),
- Armed Robbery (Taking property from another person with intent to steal using a weapon),
- Forgery (Creating or altering a document with intent to defraud),
- Aggravated Assault (Intent to attack and seriously injure the victim),
- Attempt Crimes (Performing a substantial step with intent to commit a specific offense), or
- First-Degree Murder (Intent to kill the victim with malice aforethought).
Scientifically, intoxicated defendants cannot walk and chew gum at the same time. Their minds cannot formulate dual intent. This same principle underpins divided attention DUI field tests (intoxicated persons cannot listen to and follow directions).
Mental health issues often complicate criminal justice issues. For a free consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney in Marietta, contact the Phillips Law Firm, LLC. We routinely handle matters in Cobb County and nearby jurisdictions.
