Ashley Willcott discusses the case of Stephen Morgan. In our breakdown segment, Ashley is joined by Carole Lieberman.

On May 6, 2009, Stephen Morgan entered the Red & Black Cafe bookstore, located near the campus of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, and shot 21-year-old student Johanna Justin-Jinich multiple times, killing her. Justin-Jinich was working at the cafe at the time. The shooting sparked a massive manhunt for Morgan and caused Wesleyan University to go into lockdown for nearly two days. Evidence later revealed that Morgan had previously harassed Justin-Jinich with disturbing and anti-Semitic emails when they both attended New York University during a summer session years earlier. Authorities also found writings belonging to Morgan indicating a potential plan for a larger-scale attack targeting Wesleyan students or the Jewish community.

Morgan surrendered to police the day after the shooting. He was charged with murder, intimidation based on bigotry or bias, and carrying a pistol without a permit. During the legal proceedings, Morgan pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. 1 In 2012, a three-judge panel agreed, finding him not guilty of murder by reason of mental disease or defect. Consequently, instead of a prison sentence, Morgan was committed to the Whiting Forensic Division of the Connecticut Valley Hospital, the state's maximum-security psychiatric facility, where he remains under psychiatric care and subject to periodic reviews regarding his commitment status.

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