FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. – The former Marine who was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the 2019 murder of his stepfather provided a progress report in court Tuesday.
Michael Brown has been in a Petersburg mental health facility since his February trial.
A Franklin County judge accepted an evaluation from his facility that recommended he continue his treatment.
To speak about his treatment, Brown testified about his progress.
Brown was asked by his lawyer while on the stand about his experience and what his plans are during his stay.
Brown said he aspires to attend college and own a small business.
So far, he says he has learned coping skills and gained an understanding of his rare dissociative amnesia diagnosis.
“As a child, he didn’t realize that the things he went through weren’t normal as far as the severity of his beatings and the abuse in his household,” explained his attorney, Deborah Caldwell-Bono. “He just really thought that that was the way things were.”
“Continued treatment clearly is needed. It is going to be a long haul to it. It didn’t happen overnight. The treatment and the work that you need to put in isn’t going to happen overnight,” said the judge.
Caldwell-Bono said that while Brown is in a mental health facility, his status will be re-evaluated every six months.