A Maryland man who has pleaded insanity to murder charges after causing a fatal, fiery Tribeca crash says Rikers Island is no good for his mental health.
Sherman Harrison, 40, claims he was suffering his “first psychiatric break” in December 2018, when he sped down West Street at more than 100 mph and caused a six-car crash
Harrison, who ran from the crash scene with his dog, was quickly arrested and eventually pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect to murder charges. He’s also charged with manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident.
Harrison had been held for months at Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center on Wards Island, undergoing mental evaluation, when he was brought to Rikers Island after a court appearance in June. He has been there since, according to a Manhattan Supreme Court filing.
But chaotic Rikers Island — which is struggling with a shortage of jail guards — “is neither safe nor appropriate for his mental health,” Harrison noted in his petition to a judge seeking a return to Kirby.
Reps from the state Office of Mental Health have ignored messages from Harrison’s lawyers on the issue, the attorneys claim in court papers. An OMH spokesman denied the allegation and said the state is working with the court on the case.