People v. VanHorn CA1/3

BACKGROUND

Between 1995 and 2001, VanHorn was arrested eight times for substance abuse-related crimes. He began experiencing auditory hallucinations in his early 20s; he was prescribed antipsychotic medication but did not take it. On a February 2002 evening, VanHorn, then 29 years old, consumed 12 beers and ingested methamphetamine. The following morning — while suffering from a delusion that he was kidnapped as a baby and that his brother was a werewolf — VanHorn stabbed his brother in the chest, puncturing his lung. The prosecution charged VanHorn with attempted first degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon. The trial court found VanHorn not guilty by reason of insanity and committed him to a state hospital with a maximum life term. VanHorn has spent almost two decades in a state hospital — the exception being time spent in a conditional release program, during which he was supervised and treated in the community. Since 2010, VanHorn has been on conditional release eight times. In seven instances, he was readmitted to the hospital after he “psychiatrically decompensated.” In 2020, a three-year period of conditional release was revoked due to his use of alcohol and…