Murder Antidepressants 04/10/2002 Washington Man Kills Sheriff: Death Penalty May Be Sought
 
 Summary:<br><br><div>Paragraph 7 reads: &quot;He was taking <strong>two anti-depressants</strong>, which <strong>aren&#39;t appropriate for someone with bipolar disorder and suggest he&#39;d been misdiagnosed at some point, according to one of his attorneys,</strong> Jeff Ellis&quot;.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/89804_matthews04.shtml">http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/89804_matthews04.shtml<br /><br /></a>Friday, October 4, 2002<br />Too early to decide on death penalty, say lawyers for accused killer<br />By TRACY JOHNSON<br />SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER<br />Ronald Keith Matthews has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He has been known to go on and off his medication, and to free himself from a cocaine habit only to go back to it again.<br />The drug makes him hear voices and feel &quot;caught in the middle of a big battle between heaven and hell,&quot; he explained during a psychiatric evaluation in May, less then two months before he was charged with shooting to death a King County deputy sheriff.<br />Matthews&#39; lawyers say his mental-health problems are complex -- and that they likely have been misdiagnosed in the past. They&#39;re asking for a delay in Prosecutor Norm Maleng&#39;s decision on whether Matthews should face the death penalty until mid-February, contending they need more time to assess Matthews&#39; mental illness.<br />But deputy prosecutors say Maleng will make the decision Nov. 4. They agreed to give Matthews&#39; attorneys until later this month to offer reasons why the death penalty shouldn&#39;t be an option, and they contend it was enough time. A Superior Court hearing is set for Tuesday.<br />Matthews, 44, is accused of grabbing Deputy Richard Herzog&#39;s gun June 22 and shooting him several times. Police say Matthews had been running naked through traffic in Newcastle and did not respond to the deputy&#39;s pepper spray.<br />Matthews had a psychiatric evaluation when he was serving time in prison for assaulting a Bellevue police officer. His lawyers say the report -- dated May 3 -- alludes to some of the complexities of his mental problems.<br />For one, he was taking two anti-depressants, which aren&#39;t appropriate for someone with bipolar disorder and suggest he&#39;d been misdiagnosed at some point, according to one of his attorneys, Jeff Ellis.<br />The attorneys also contend they don&#39;t yet have key information that could help show Matthews&#39; mental state on the day Herzog, 46, was shot, including blood-test results that would reveal whether he was on anti-depressants or cocaine. He told police he was on both.<br />&quot;The decision to seek the sentence of death is the most momentous decision our legal system asks a prosecutor or jury to make,&quot; Ellis said. &quot;We do not want to present incomplete or unreliable information.&quot;<br />But deputy prosecutor Tim Bradshaw said that whether a jury will be given the option of imposing a death sentence is up to only one person: Maleng. Under state law, it takes a unanimous jury to impose the death penalty, but whether to seek it is the prosecutor&#39;s decision alone.<br />Bradshaw said Maleng would not decide until he&#39;s satisfied that he has enough information about Matthews. But the deputy prosecutor said he is confident Matthews&#39; three attorneys will have had enough time to make their case by Nov. 4.<br />He said putting off the decision further could cause unnecessary problems.<br />&quot;It delays closure for the victim&#39;s family,&quot; he said. &quot;Facts, witnesses and evidence become more disparate the more time passes from the day of the murder.&quot;<br />A trial date has not yet been set.<br />P-I reporter Tracy Johnson can be reached at 206-467-5942 or tracyjohnson@seattlepi.com<br /><br /><br /><br /></div> 
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