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.”
I feel like there's a lot of steps between rehabilitating a chronic shoplifter and a guy who killed and consumed a guy's brain. Even if someone is rehabilitated should they escape punishment? Should we not punish people for what they do to others?
Sometimes the lessons that stay with you longest are learned through pain. Sometimes you need to feel hurt to understand it.
If the guy was truly determined by actual professionals (aka: not you) to be fit to return to society, then what’s the issue?
What gain does anyone get from unnecessarily punishing him longer? It’s just a waste of time and resources to inflict pain on an individual because people can’t accept that someone can change.
Punishment does very little in the way of teaching a lesson. Do some actual research.
Edit: furthermore, this was an incident of mental illness and a severe psychological break. You can’t punish that out of someone. That makes no sense. This man needed serious help, got it, and has been compliant with his treatment.
He wasn't punished. He was "found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity" and placed in a state psychiatric hospital. That's not punishment, that is treatment and care. That's also why he is being released - they have determined that he is stable enough to be back in society. (I have my doubts that he will remain stable without being in a psychiatric hospital but I guess we'll all see.)
"What gain does someone get from unnecessarily punishing him longer?" Safety. If you have someone who commits a premeditated murder (insane or not). Then granting them the opportunity to do it again is a serious risk.
Additionally, schizophrenia doesn't just completely go away. Most cases are episodic, the fact that he is fine now does not mean he's "cured". You at the very minimum need to be able to force continuous treatment until his death.
The fact that punishing people serves little utility, doesn't mean that you should release murderers. The fact that protecting society by imprisoning people, "punishes" the people does not mean that you shouldn't protect society by imprisoning people.
You clearly don’t understand any of the psychology behind this. Stop pretending you do.
While I trust professionals in many things, I'm not sure how much experience they have dealing with cannibals who harbor murderous intent. Can you honestly say to me that what little money and resources it takes to keep this single man locked up is worth the possibility of him doing it a second time? What's a second life worth? Ten years?
I think people like you are a hair from being as insane as the people they lock up. Not all crimes should be forgiven and cold blooded murder is at the top of that list. Sure, he should be allowed to earn more freedoms but released back into society?
Absolutely fucking not.
An indicator of a capable society would be permanently excluding the people who do such horrid things that it's considered a niche. Another indicator would be not allowing such truly revolting people the ability to circumvent the minimum 20 years for premeditated murder plus whatever fucking cannibalism adds onto it by pleading insanity and having a board of professionals give a thumbs up.
He robbed someone of their life. Of their future. Not by accident or negligence but intentionally and planned. But hey, I hope someone defends the guy that scoops your brain out of your skull, eats it like a steak dinner, then goes free in a couple years because hey, he's all better now :) Utterly absurd.
Clearly you do not have any grasp on mental illness and what it can do to someone.
Consider yourself lucky, I guess.
There's a wide gulf of distance between someone with antisocial personality disorder or psychopathy who fully intends to murder another person and someone experiencing profound psychosis to the point that they don't even know that their own actions are real. This guy was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the first place because he's the latter and not the former. The latter can be safe in public, if adherent to medication regimens, therapy, and monitoring. The former must be housed away from the public for life.
I say that as a healthcare professional with experience with both people who have severe psychiatric disorders and also people who are in prison. The original court found this man actually did not have murderous intent and that makes all the difference.
Tell that to the victim
Better look over your shoulder then, buddy. We’re everywhere
Since I fully agree with what the commenter you're replying to said, I'll assume you're lumping me into that group too.
Sure, call me insane. Call me crazy. Call me fucking nuts and say I need a straight jacket. Whatever floats your boat.
You're not one of the people that can lock me up though and it's pretty clear why. So just remember that "crazy" motherfuckers like me are driving next to you on the freeway, shopping behind you in the grocery store, living down the hall, etc. We could lose it at any point!
Fear of what you don't understand and ignoring expert opinions are destroying society. Which side of that would you like to be on?
Plus, you're talking to another human being, it's just fucking disrespectful.
Your comment was good and all but really I just want to tell you I love your profile picture. Don’t see enough ODST love out there. The Superintendent was such a great idea
Hell yea! Still sad there was never a sequel, it was such a unique experience
sadfasfasdf
Ten years is the price of someone else's entire life? There should be no system in which robbing someone of their future so deliberately should be washed away.
He wanted to eat someone. You don't have to murder to get access to a corpse. Cold blooded murder should not be seen as 'correctable'. A man lost his entire life. He loses only ten years. Fuck that.
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Murder is 20 to life. How did he get half the minimum sentencing? Ah, plead insanity and then wiggled around the system by getting a clean bill of health so long as he stays on his meds.
What happens if he misses a dose? Hell I missed mine today because I got busy. My blood pressure is a little high but he might decide to kill and eat someone.
Why the fuck is that an acceptable risk to you?
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Man murdered another man, consumed his brain, and got out in half the minimum sentencing time. There is no further context or situation that remedies this, despite how desperate you are to do so.
Did you read the party where he was sentenced to 60 years? The system was ready to keep him for basically his whole life.
I'm ready to reform criminals and the insane for anything but murder or especially violent crimes. Nobody's life should be gambled on whether or not we have a perfect understanding of mental health. I get that you disagree but I can't comprehend how. I wouldn't want this guy in my city let alone my state.
“I’m for reforming people, but only if I think it’s okay :)”
-you, essentially
What they said actually had meaningful nuance. We should be more careful when it comes to potential murder.
You realize he's going to be in a group home, right? It's not like he's just being let out on the streets.
So either he's able to leave the group home freely which defeats what you just said entirely or he doesn't get to leave and it's just prison with extra steps. I don't get your point.
Maybe you missed the part of severe mental health issues?
This guy didn’t just wake up one day and decide “hey, I’m going to eat someone :)”
Do everyone a favor and don’t comment on things you clearly know nothing about.
Cool - he shouldn't be welcomed back into society if those issues are to fucking murder and eat someone. I don't give a shit how enlightened you think you are, someone should not suffer because you have a boner for "giving everyone a chance at recovery :)" The group of people insane or malicious enough to premeditate their kills is small enough I'm comfortable putting them in a box until they die so nobody else has to be murdered with a fucking axe and eaten you absolute loon.
Well it’s a good thing you don’t make these decisions :)
Try being less sadistic