HILO, Hawaii (AP) - A man charged with bludgeoning his landlord to death on the Big Island has been acquitted of murder by reason of insanity.
The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports (https://bit.ly/2owkfJU) Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura handed down the verdict Friday in the case of Jason Russell Jump, who will be committed for an indefinite period to the Hawaii State Hospital.
The judge said the prosecution demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that Jump killed James V. “Jimmy” Johns in December 2012. But he ruled the defense showed Jump “lacked substantial capacity” to acknowledge the unlawfulness of his conduct.
Jump is accused of using a sharp object to kill Johns in a tool shed on the victim’s property in Puna.
Psychiatrists diagnosed Jump with persecutory delusional disorder and schizophrenia.
His attorney declined to comment.
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Information from: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/
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