Judge acquits murder suspect

Mental illness cited as cause

FO RT SMITH - A Sebastian County Circuit Court judge Thursday acquitted a man of two counts of capital murder in the stabbing death of his wife and subsequent death of their unborn child, ruling the man suffered from a mental disease at the time of the killings.

In a brief hearing Thursday morning, Judge James Cox ordered that James Saylor Herring, 35, be turned over to the custody of the Arkansas Department of Human Services where he will be treated at the Arkansas State Hospital in Little Rock. Cox’s order said Herring continues to be affected by the mental disease schizophrenia.

Without objection from the prosecution or defense, Cox signed the order adopting the findings of the supervising forensic psychologist at the state hospital, Michael J. Simon, that Herring “lacked the capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct and he lacked the capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law.”

Herring was accused of stabbing his wife of one week, Celestia Duffin, 32, in the chest as she drove them near the Sebastian County Courts Building at South Ninth and B streets on May 15, 2012.

Duffin, who was seven months pregnant, jumped out of the car after it slammed into a roadside power pole and ran the block to the Fort Smith Police Department where she entered the lobby, called out for help and collapsed.

She was declared dead about 30 minutes later at Sparks Regional Medical Center. Their unborn son died as a result of Duffin’s death.

Herring was present in court Thursday wearing a bright orange jail uniform with shackles around his ankles and his hands cuffed to a chain around his waist.

His black hair was cut short and he had several days growth of beard stubble. Sitting at the defense table flanked by his attorneys, he kept his head down during most of the hearing, sobbing softly. As he was led out of the courtroom after the hearing, his sobs became louder.

Cox’s order stated that the human services department director will file periodic psychiatric or psychological reports with the court on Herring’s ongoing treatment.

“Any request to release the defendant from the custody of the Arkansas State Hospital must be made to this court and a hearing held with testimony presented,” Cox’s order stated.

Herring told Simon during a mental evaluation last August that he killed his wife because he sensed that she had had an affair with a neighbor and that the neighbor was attacking him through Duffin. He said he thought he was going to be found innocent as the victim of a hate crime.

Two of Herring’s family members sat behind him on the courtroom benches during the hearing. Eighteen members of Duffin’s family filled the benches behind the prosecutor’s table.

Afterward, Duffin’s father, Lamond Duffin, said he hoped that Herring would get the help he needed and would not be out in society as he was the day his daughter was killed.

“It looks like he’s going to be in a mental hospital for a long, long time,” he said.

He said he believes the mental health system is broken and that’s one of the reasons his daughter is dead.

According to Simon’s report, Herring began showing symptoms of mental problems in 2005. He was admitted to psychiatric hospitals in 2006 and 2008 for treatment, was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2007 and has undergone treatment on and off since then.

Herring pleaded guilty in March 2012 in Fort Smith District Court to a charge of third-degree domestic battery. He was accused of punching Duffin, who was pregnant at the time, according to court records. He was given a suspended sentence and fined.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 08/30/2013

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