Pablo Gomez Jr., a former UC Berkeley student and “queer alliance” activist convicted of a brutal 2017 stabbing murder, will spend his foreseeable future in a psychiatric facility instead of prison.
Although “not guilty by reason of insanity” may mean a criminal could one day be released from a mental facility if no longer considered a danger to society. However, the judge said in court that if Gomez were ever restored to competency, he would be transferred to a prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.
Gomez fled to Southern California and was arrested the next day. Since his arrest, at least two psychologists examined Gomez’s mental situation, although it remained unclear from court records what their findings were, according to Mercury News.
After the ruling, around a dozen of Emilie Inman’s family members and friends spoke to the court that the idea that Gomez would be found not guilty by reason of insanity had broken their spirits.
“So who is responsible?” Nathalie Inman, Emilie’s mother, asked the court. “Apparently, no one.”
“We have to live with this absurd and heinous story, the story of Emilie’s death,” Inman told the judge, reported Berkeleyside. “Emilie’s absence is unspeakable and absolutely frightening. Please do not let this creature free in society ever again.”
Friends Read Free