Lawyers focus on mental illness in murder conviction appeal

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) - The Indiana Supreme Court is set to hear an appeal of the conviction of a schizophrenic man serving a life sentence in the death of his mother.

Andrew Satterfield, 39, was found guilty of murder, arson and attempted murder. He was accused of killing his mother and burning her home near Petersburg in December 2011.

Satterfield's lawyers for the appeal argue their client should have received a different conviction due to his history of mental illness. The Evansville Courier & Press (http://bit.ly/1MQU2tH ) reports they're seeking to have the conviction either reversed or changed to guilty but mentally ill.

A jury could have reached a verdict of guilty, guilty but mentally ill, not guilty or not guilty by reason of insanity.

"My client had almost two decades of mental illness diagnoses. There were over a thousand pages of medical records to bolster that," said Doug Walton, who was Satterfield's trial lawyer. "To this day I cannot see how the jury failed to determine he was mentally ill based on the overwhelming evidence of voluminous mental health records and expert mental health professionals' testimony."

Satterfield confessed to the crimes during interviews with investigators, and video recordings were played during the trial. His lawyers object to the judge's decision to let a detective talk about his opinion as to whether Satterfield was being truthful.

"Using the term 'evasive' indicates that Satterfield had intent to avoid answering questions," according to the appeal.

Two mental health professional testified that giving elusive answers is a trait of Satterfield's schizophrenia.

The case will be brought before the state Supreme Court on Thursday.

___

Information from: Evansville Courier & Press, http://www.courierpress.com