EVERETT — A social worker is hopeful a former nurse who set fire to her apartment with her 11-year-old daughter inside will qualify for a special program designed to help severely mentally ill offenders return safely to the community.
The woman, 57, was diagnosed with schizophrenia after her arrest last year in Everett. Her daughter told police her mother lit small fires throughout their apartment. The girl was able to extinguish most, but a fire in the utility room took off. The pair fled the apartment and the girl pulled the fire alarm, according to court papers.
Firefighters doused the flames before they spread to other units. The fire caused about $175,000 in damage.
The woman was charged with arson. She told mental health professionals she felt safer in jail. Doctors noted that she suffers from delusions and paranoia.
The woman was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison.
She told the judge she loves her daughter and never intended to hurt her. The woman isn’t allowed to contact the girl for a decade unless her daughter asks a judge to lift the ban.
The woman said she was eager to go to prison and “looking forward to everything.”
Earlier this year, she attempted to withdraw her guilty plea, saying she wanted to go to trial.
Her attorney told the judge that she remained concerned about the woman’s mental health. Doctors found the woman well enough to assist with her own defense and concluded that she didn’t meet the criteria for a diminished capacity defense, according to court records.
Her attorney, however, argued that it was difficult to understand how the woman’s paranoid delusions at the time of the incident wouldn’t allow for some mental defense.
The public defender discussed with the woman about asking for a lighter sentence based on the client’s mental health issues. The woman told the lawyer she didn’t want to be released sooner because of she was afraid for her safety.
A judge declined to allow the woman to withdraw her guilty plea, saying it “was made knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily.” There was no evidence that she wasn’t competent to plead guilty, the judge concluded.
Eric Johnsen, a social worker with the Snohomish County Public Defender Association, concluded that the woman should be eligible for the state Department of Corrections’ Offender Re-entry Community Safety program. The program combines community supervision with wraparound mental health services for offenders living with severe mental illnesses. Participants also are eligible for paid housing.
Johnsen had been in contact with the state about the woman’s case.
Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com.
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