KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A man who said he believed Jesus commanded him to slaughter his father and stepmother in 1990 should be freed from the psychiatric hospital where he’s been held for decades, a Tennessee appellate court has ruled.
The Court of Criminal Appeals also ruled Wednesday that David Cloar cannot be required to receive psychiatric treatment upon his release, The Knoxville News Sentinel reported.
Cloar, a 35-year-old Vietnam veteran at the time, was found innocent by reason of insanity after killing Jack Cloar and June Cloar with a knife at his father’s Morristown home.
Officials at the Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute have called for Cloar’s release for the past 15 years, arguing that Cloar’s psychotic symptoms, including his obsession with religion, have been kept in check with medication.
In testimony, Cloar said he will seek out treatment at a Veterans Affairs medical facility, although the court ruled the state cannot force him to do so.
Prosecutors have 60 days to ask the Tennessee Supreme Court to review the decision.