Ed and Peggy Galeck
3 hours ago
NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio (WJW) – The FOX 8 I-Team investigated what could be preventing justice for Julian Wood, the young boy murdered at a local grocery store.
Records show the suspect has a history of mental illness, and he wondered how that might affect Bionca Ellis’ treatment in court.
We considered how this might impact her murder charge and even her death sentence.
We watched as Ellis smiled and grimaced in Cuyahoga County Court this week as she faced a list of charges, just the latest action to shine a spotlight on her mental state.
Now, let’s look at the crime: North Olmsted police say Ellis attacked a boy and his mother outside a Giant Eagle, killing 3-year-old Julian.
Meanwhile, we discovered a common thread in police reports about Ellis dating back to long before this incident: Ellis had repeatedly told police he wanted to go to prison.
Ellis reportedly told Cleveland police she wanted to kill someone and would do so if police didn’t take her to jail.
California police charged Ellis with assault for allegedly assaulting a hospital employee, but the report said he sought a minimum of two weeks in jail.
Florida police arrested Ellis on suspicion of trespassing after she said she wanted to go to jail.
All of this happened before a Rocky River District Court judge released Ellis for violating his probation, despite the magistrate’s request for a mental health evaluation.
So we turned to Michael Benza, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University.
“The criminal justice system focuses on three issues when it comes to mental health,” he said. “First, is the defendant competent to stand trial? Second, can he plead not guilty by reason of insanity in this case?”
We found that this could also impact the punishment: Cuyahoga County prosecutors said they could still decide to seek the death penalty.
But Benza noted that in Ohio, certain mental illnesses make a person ineligible for the death penalty.
“Then the defendant cannot receive the death penalty. The only possible sentence then is life imprisonment,” he said.
Ms Ellis’ mother said her daughter had long struggled with mental health issues, issues the court may struggle to address.
In fact, we now know that Ellis is in isolation in the medical unit at the Cuyahoga County Jail.
The law professor said that when people accused of a crime try to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, that plea is successful in less than 1 percent of cases.
The case has just begun hearing in the County Court and no mental health allegations have been made yet.
