Gibson v. State

On October 29, 2009, Albert Gibson was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the murder of his mother, the aggravated assault of his brother, and other crimes.1 Following an evaluation, Gibson was involuntarily committed to the custody of the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Department of Health or DBHDD and confined at the West Central Georgia Regional Hospital in Columbus, Georgia West Central. See OCGA § 17-7-131 e 4. In April 2013,2 Gibson petitioned the court for release from confinement, see OCGA § 17-7-131 f, but his petition was denied. Approximately one year later, Gibson filed another petition requesting a hearing on the issue of whether he continued to meet the criteria for involuntary inpatient confinement. The trial court held another hearing, at which time Gibson clarified that he was seeking a conditional release to be moved from West Central to a less restrictive, group home. See OCGA § 37-3-1 9.1, 10, 12.1. The trial court denied Gibson’s petition based on a finding that Gibson failed to carry his burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that he no longer requires involuntary inpatient confinement. Gibson appeals, arguing that the trial court erred by finding he failed to carry his burden of proof to show that he meets the criteria for conditional release from confinement at West Georgia. As more fully set forth below, we now affirm.

Pursuant to OCGA § 37-3-1 9.1 A i ii, involuntary inpatient treatment is required for a mentally ill person