Nick Reiner was put under a yearlong mental health conservatorship in 2020, reported The New York Times, an arrangement that will likely take center stage in his defense against charges for the murder of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.
The placement — designed for people with serious mental illnesses who are found to be “gravely disabled” and typically originate after noncompliance with treatment — is known for allowing involuntary psychiatric care. The conservatorship, designed to last for a limited time, ended in 2021, according to the report.
The issue complicates Los Angeles prosecutors’ case against Reiner, whose mental health disorders could undermine charges of first-degree murder. If Reiner’s mental state was such that it made him incapable of having that intent, he may be guilty of another crime, including manslaughter. He could also pursue a not guilty by reason of insanity defense, though he’d likely face an uphill climb.
It’s been widely reported that he was diagnosed with schizophrenia several years ago. Some have said that Reiner’s medication was adjusted or changed in the weeks leading up to the attack, leading to increasingly erratic behavior. In the hours leading up to the slayings, he was seen arguing with his parents at a Saturday holiday party at Conan O’Brien’s home, sources told The Hollywood Reporter. He later checked into the Pierside Santa Monica hotel and was arrested in South Los Angeles.
Alan Jackson, Reiner’s former lawyer, appears to have hinted at the preparation of a defense involving the extensive mental health disorders at play.
“Pursuant to the law of California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder,” he said, shortly after withdrawing from the case. “Print that.”
It’s unknown whether Kimberly Greene, the public defender now representing Reiner, will do the same. He’s likely undergoing medical examinations to examine his competence and whether he understands the charges against him. If a not guilty by reason of insanity defense is advanced, a jury must find that he couldn’t appreciate the difference between right and wrong.
“That’s not really what we have here in my opinion,” says Halim Dhanidina, a former state and court of appeals judge and prosecutor. “But you could have a situation where illness can reduce the crime from murder to manslaughter.”
First-degree murder requires premeditation. Dhanidina adds, “If the mental illness was such that it didn’t manifest in the intent to kill, he could be guilty of a lesser degree of murder.”
If convicted as charged, Reiner could face a death sentence or life in prison without the possibility of parole, though a decision hasn’t been made on whether to seek capital punishment. Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman, who restored the death penalty in Los Angeles, has said he would only seek it in “rare cases,” like the killing of a law enforcement officer or school shooting.
“We’re fully confident that a jury will convict Nick Reiner beyond a reasonable doubt of the brutal murder of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, and do so unanimously,” Hochman said last week.
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