Video: A Man Charged With Murder Could Soon Be Free

CLAY COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Clay County man charged with killing his father, could soon be a free man.

Steven Jessie Harris was indicted back in 2006 on eleven different counts, but was later ruled incompetent to stand trial.

According to the Supreme Court, if someone is found incompetent, they can’t be tried for their actions and because of that, Harris was civilly committed to a long term state mental health facility.

That’s where Harris’s second chance at being a free man comes into play.

All of this started back in 2005, when Steven Jessie Harris killed his father, kidnapped a woman from Sonic, and then shot three West Point Police Officers.

Now, nearly twelve years later, a man indicted on eleven different counts, ranging from murder to armed robbery, will be a free man.

“It’s very frustrating for law enforcement even though some may claim a victory in this thing. What about the victims? The man that was murdered? The woman that was kidnapped? The three police officers that were shot, you know, what about their rights,” says Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott.

State psychiatrists say Harris is schizophrenic and needs long term treatment in a state mental hospital, but here’s the issue.

“That lack of facility puts us in a situation where we can’t keep him in jail, but we also can’t try him because he’s not competent to stand trial and so we’re forced to deal with the mental system that we have currently in Mississippi,” says 16th District DA Scott Colom.

Now, it’s no longer up to law enforcement or the circuit court to decide what’s next for Harris, and instead, is up to the hospital.

“Most of the ones that we have sent down, that’s committed by the court, anywhere from 30 to 45 days typically is the max. They did keep Mr. Harris for a little bit longer than that, but again, they’re saying they’ve done all they can do, and it’s time for him to go,” says Sheriff Scott.

And when he’s let go, he’s a free man again.

“Mr. Harris is going to be back on the street. Hopefully, we never have another incident with him, you know, that’s our prayers, but at the same time, when you know that you’ve got a potential ticking time bomb, you know, as sheriffs and chiefs, it’s our job to protect the community, so we want to be aware of where he’s at and what’s going on,” says Sheriff Scott.

Although Harris will be back out on the street, it doesn’t erase his record.

“We just had him recently evaluated again, I mean, after he got treatment for a year, we had him evaluated again and he still came back not competent to stand trial, so I don’t see a situation where he would be re-evaluated, but if something were to happen, then that is always a possibility,” says District Attorney Colom.

If a future mental exam finds Harris competent, the indictment could be restored and he will go to trial.

In the meantime, Grenada Attorney Carlos Moore, told WCBI late today that he intends to file a federal lawsuit seeking compensation for the time Harris was locked up, waiting for a trial.