Throughout the sentencing, Sills and his public defender, Elisabeth Trefonas, said he barely remembered the incident or ensuing law enforcement standoff. They argued that Sills was experiencing a psychotic break that lasted months after the stabbing….
Sills spent 754 days in jail, 80% of that in solitary, and you don’t feel very human,” Trefonas said in court. “When you’re having a psychotic episode, being in solitary is a frightening experience. Our jail is meant to be a temporary holding facility; it’s not meant for over two years of detention.”
After apologizing directly to the victim, who sat in the jury box but declined to give a statement, Sills stated in court that he felt like a broken shell of a man.