Man will be treated for mental illness in state facility
A 41-year-old man who was found not guilty by reason of insanity on charges he stabbed a woman at an Aurora hospital in 2010 has been sent to a secure mental health facility.
Kane County Judge James Hallock OK’d two reports Friday from the Illinois Department of Human Services to have Darrell Franklin, of the 600 block of South River Street, Aurora, kept and treated in a mental health facility until March 2036.
“(Franklin) was found to be in need of inpatient mental health services. He was remanded to the Department of Human Services to be placed in a secure facility,” Assistant State’s Attorney Mark Stadjohar said.
Franklin faced up to 30 years in prison on attempted murder charges stemming from an attack on a woman on Aug. 31, 2010 at Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora. Franklin was accused of stabbing the woman with a butter knife while she was at the hospital for dialysis.
This summer, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity in a brief, stipulated bench trial in which attorneys from both sides agreed with an evaluation that concluded Franklin suffers from a disorder that causes hallucinations and delusions.
In court documents then, attorneys agreed that the state had enough evidence to prove Franklin guilty, but the defense also had proof the attack was a result of his mental illness.
Court documents also indicated that Franklin has a long history of mental illness, that he’d been hospitalized more than 12 times since he was in his 20s, and has a history of “noncompliance” in taking his medication if not closely monitored.
Stadjohar said Franklin will not be free to leave whatever facility he is assigned to and the state may keep him there until March 2036. The term is 24 years because it is 85 percent of the maximum sentence Franklin could have received for attempted murder. Franklin also received credit for time spent in the Kane County jail since August 2010.
Stadjohar said state officials must update prosecutors every 90 days as to Franklin’s condition, and if they ever recommend that he be released, a judge must approve it first. “Any change to his status must be addressed with the court,” he said.
The victim, a North Aurora woman, and her family also have sued the hospital, arguing the staff was negligent in protecting her and didn’t provide adequate security. That case is due in court on Thursday.