Published: November 24, 2009 04:05 pm      

Nolan fit to stand trial

Though he may have been in a manic state when he tried to set his bedridden grandmother on fire, Daniel Nolan is competent to stand trial. Laurel County Circuit Judge John Knox Mills made the decision Friday.

Dr. Gregory Perry, a psychiatric evaluator for the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center, said Nolan has been diagnosed with bi-polar disorder, which involves episodes of mania and, conversely, episodes of deep depression. Perry said Nolan expressed he suffered from auditory hallucinations, but “would counter some hallucinations with more reality-based statements.” In other words, Commonwealth’s Attorney Jackie Steele confirmed, Nolan was able to recognize the hallucinations for what they were.

Perry cited one instance when Nolan wrote in his journal, “Are you God?”

He responded to himself by saying, “No, or why the hell would I be sitting in jail?”

Perry stated Nolan is aware of the charges, including attempted murder, against him and is of average intelligence. He added he does not seem to suffer from a brain injury. Nolan was diagnosed with a “fairly severe case of bi-polar disorder,” Perry said. Since Nolan’s psychiatric evaluation at the KCPC, his mental health has stabilized, Perry said. He is now on a mix of lithium, Prozac and Vistaril.

On April 14, Nolan tried to burn his 75-year-old grandmother, Hazel Nolan, by pouring lighter fluid on the blanket that covered her and igniting it. Before Hazel Nolan was seriously burned, Nolan’s mother pulled the blanket off the bed and extinguished the flames.

At the time of the alleged crime, Nolan was reportedly sleep deprived, smoking three packs of cigarettes a day and drinking “one to two cases of Mountain Dew a day,” Perry noted. Nolan had also recently had a fight with his wife, who told him she was leaving him.

The day before the attack on his grandmother, Perry said Nolan had visited an East Bernstadt medical clinic to have “a mental status evaluation.” He was prescribed medication for his mental state at that time.

The doctor visit, lack of sleep, reports of “racing thoughts” and “flights of ideas” caused Perry to determine Nolan’s manic state at the time.

Perry said Nolan was under stress at the time of the incident, and though he does not have adequate coping mechanisms, he is competent to stand trial now. Perry evaluated Nolan in the fall. He also assessed him in June.