A man who killed and ate a man has been released back into public life after ten years.
Tyree Smith, from Bridgeport, Connecticut, killed a homeless man and then ate his brain and eyeballs according to officials.
The horrific case made headline news, with Smith found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity after a July 2013 trial.
In lieu of a stint behind bars, Smith was ordered committed to a state psychiatric hospital for 60 years.
But now, ten years after the grim incident, the state Psychiatric Security Review Board said Smith was ready to be transitioned back into the community.
Smith has been released from the facility, Connecticut’s most secure, as of writing.
He will be living in a Waterbury group home, and is not allowed to associate with anyone involved in criminal activity.
The board stated in its report: “Tyree Smith is an individual with a psychiatric illness requiring care, custody and treatment.
“Since his last hearing Tyree Smith has continued to demonstrate clinical stability.
“Mr. Smith is medication compliant, actively engaged in all recommended forms of treatment, and has been symptom-free for many years.”
During the trial, Smith’s cousin Nicole Rabb claimed he arrived at her Connecticut home in December 2011, talking about Greek gods and ruminating about needing to go out and get blood.
When she saw him the next evening she noticed what appeared to be specks of blood on his pants and that he was carrying chopsticks and a bloody ax.
Smith then allegedly told Rabb he killed a man and ate his brains in the Lakeview Cemetery while drinking sake, and grimly warned he intended to eat more people.
A month later, police found Angel Gonzalez’s mutilated body in the vacant apartment on Brooks Street in Bridgeport where Smith had lived as a child.
Police later recovered the bloody ax and an empty bottle of sake in a stream bed near the Boston Avenue cemetery.
The defense’s case rested on the testimony of Yale University psychiatrist Dr. Reena Kapoor, who testified that Smith had kept his lust for human flesh after his arrest, even offering to eat her.
Kapoor claimed Smith suffered from psychotic incidents since childhood and heard voices that told him to kill people.
She then said the voices ordered Smith to eat the victim’s brain so they would get a better understanding of human behavior and the eyes so that they could see into the “spirit realm.”
Kapoor added that Smith went to Subway after eating the man’s body parts.
The report on Smith’s release said: “He denied experiencing cravings but stated that if they were to arise, he would reach out to his hospital and community supports and providers.”
Yes, so the cannibal does not belong in prison as you say. There was no premeditated, malicious intent. How could there be, if you’re not in the right mind.
Not seeing that is the big issue here.
That’s unusual. So because they didn’t choose the mental illness, they’re absolved of the effects it has? So really the only thing drunk drivers are at fault for is the first drink. After that, they can’t be held responsible. “Not in the right mind” as you say.
You’re right that the drunk driver is only responsible for the first drink. The first drink is what caused the accident in the first place. What happened to manslaughter isn’t murder anyways? That drunk driver very much chose to drink that night and didn’t take measure to stop themselves from doing something dangerous, which justifies a manslaughter charge, like getting a ride to the bar.
That’s very different from someone being mentally ill and absolutely unable to control when those voices start screaming in their head to kill someone.
But hey that first drink isn’t illegal, it’s everything they did after they’re ‘mentally impaired’ so they shouldn’t be held responsible for the second drink or getting behind the wheel. It wasn’t their choice, right? This line of logic is deeply flawed. If we expect people who are drunk to take measures not to harm others in spite of their mental impairment, we should expect the same for the mentally ill.