Court Denies Felon’s Request for Transfer to Psych Ward

By D.C. Witness Staff - June 11, 2020
Court | Daily Stories | Homicides | Suspects | Victims |

On June 11, DC Superior Court Judge Jose Lopez denied a convicted felon to be transferred to a psychiatric ward. 

Victor Purdie, 56, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2017. Police arrested him for assaulting 57-year-old Richard Lewis after an altercation between the two outside of Union Station on the 100 block of Massachusetts Avenue, NE. Lewis succumbed to his injuries on Jan. 6, 2017.

Purdie has been held at a facility in Springfield, Mo. 

Purdie asked to be transferred to the John Howard Psychiatric ward in St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in DC. 

Purdie’s defense attorney, Sweta Patel, said he is dissatisfied with the treatment he is being provided for his mental health issues at the Missouri institute. Purdie previously transferred from a Texas facility because the proper medication for his condition wasn’t available.

Judge Lopez said the court has no authority to fulfill Purdie’s request. He also said Purdie did not meet the necessary requirements to be designated as mentally incompetent. 

The hearing was originally scheduled to convene on March 2 but was pushed back to June 11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.