NEW: Woodmansee to Seek Civil Commitment Upon Release
Friday, May 27, 2011
Convicted murderer Michael Woodmansee will voluntarily seek civil commitment in a psychiatric hospital upon his scheduled release from prison, Rhode Island Department of Corrections Director Ashbel T. Wall announced today.
Woodmansee had been found eligible for civil commitment, said Wall in a statement to the press. "Two highly respected and experienced psychiatrists with national reputations conducted comprehensive evaluations of this inmate to determine if he was, in fact, eligible under the state’s rigorous statutory mandates for civil commitment," he said. Wall cited R.I.G.L. 40.1-5-8, outlining the criteria: that the person’s unsupervised presence in the community would create a likelihood of serious harm by reason of mental disability.
"We have received each psychiatrist’s report," he said. "They have independently concluded that he does in fact meet these criteria."
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Woodmansee confessed in 1982 to killing five-year-old Jason Foreman in 1975, and has been serving a 40-year sentence for the murder. He had been serving his term in Massachusetts, but had been transferred to Rhode Island prior to his scheduled release.