AUGUSTA (AP) — A judge has ruled that a former patient at Riverview Psychiatric Center in Augusta was prompted by anger and not mental illness when he attacked a worker last year, leaving a pen embedded in her hand.
The judge issued an eight-page decision on Thursday, convicting Mark Murphy of elevated aggravated assault, following a jury-waived trial in October.
The Kennebec Journal (http://bit.ly/1e0ELpw ) reported that the judge agreed with prosecutors who said the 48-year-old Murphy attacked the mental health worker because he was angry at being denied permission to visit his parents.
Murphy’s attorney said his client was not criminally responsible for the attack because he had been growing increasingly paranoid for weeks. The lawyer said Murphy is remorseful.
Murphy faces up to 30 years in prison at sentencing.
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