A juror from the Wayne Treacy trial asked the judge to get the convicted teen psychiatric treatment as soon as possible on Friday.
When NBC 6 interviewed the juror earlier this week, he said that he would contact the judge to urge him to make sure that Treacy, 17, gets the treatment he needs. He did call Judge David Haimes and left a message.
On Friday Haimes called back the juror, who wants to remain anonymous, and spoke to him in open court on a speakerphone. The judge did it that way so both prosecutor Maria Schneider and defense attorney Russell Williams could be present.
"We obviously found Wayne guilty, we did that based on all the facts that we heard and saw, everyone felt that was the right decision,” the male juror said. “It was unanimous, obviously, but myself and some of the other jurors were heavily affected by Wayne's condition, and I wanted to urge you, basically, to see if you could get Wayne psychological assistance as soon as possible."
Treacy was convicted of attempted murder on Monday for a 2010 attack on Josie Ratley. After the then-15-year-old girl sent Treacy text messages about his older brother who had recently committed suicide, he punched, kicked and stomped her head with steel-toed construction boots at a bus stop outside Deerfield Beach Middle School, according to prosecutors. Ratley suffered severe brain damage.
Attorneys made an insanity claim for Treacy, arguing that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and was not in control of what he was doing at the time.
VIDEO: Closing Arguments at Wayne Treacy Trial
The juror urged Judge Haimes to focus on psychiatric treatment, not just punishment.
"It was open and obvious from the testimony that Wayne needs psychological assistance, and I think I can speak for the rest of the jury by saying we really think he should get it as quickly as possible,” he said.
Schneider responded to the juror in court, “We will all make sure that he receives the treatment he needs so that when he's back in society he will be a contributing member."
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Treacy’s lawyer, Russell Williams, said after the hearing he was glad that the juror called the judge.
“I credit him for taking the lead and taking the bull by the horns, it took a lot of guts to do that and I really appreciate it,” Williams said.
Williams also said he was surprised by the move – saying that in his 25-year career such a thing has never happened in one of his cases.
Asked about Treacy getting treatment in prison versus at a secure residential treatment facility, Williams responded, “I do not think he's gonna be able to get the treatment he needs to become a normal member of society in jail.”
Treacy faces up to 50 years behind bars. He is due to be sentenced next month.
Haimes thanked the juror for his concern, but did not indicate whether it would affect the sentence he imposes.
"We all realize that Wayne will at some point be back in our community and it behooves us all to make sure he receives the care he needs so when he's back in the community he doesn't pose a threat to others,” Schneider said in the hallway afterward.
She said there’s never been any disagreement that Treacy needs help.
Said the juror: "The only way we can get a victory in this case, other than Josie getting better, right, which is apparently happening, is if Wayne actually gets better and tells other people, hey, if you have severe trauma, go get psychological help, I don't care how young you are, you're a boy or a girl, go get help so you don't do what I did, right?"
