David R. Kinworthy

David R. Kinworthy was the Allen County judge who reviewed William Stanley Milligan’s commitment in late 1979, after Milligan had been found not guilty by reason of insanity and transferred to Lima State Hospital. Kinworthy’s role joined questions that the case repeatedly kept distinct: what diagnosis applied, where Milligan should receive treatment, and whether he met the legal standard for continued hospitalization. His December 10 ruling both named multiple personality as the diagnosis and ordered treatment consistent with it, but kept Milligan at Lima rather than returning him to Athens.

Role and Setting

The review hearing took place on November 30 in Courtroom 3 of the Allen County Courthouse in Lima, Ohio. The courthouse was an old building, and the courtroom, though large enough for about fifty people, was mostly empty. The hearing was closed to the public and the media; television cameras waited outside. Kinworthy presided over a proceeding that therefore had a restricted audience inside and a visible press presence beyond the courtroom doors.

The people admitted as observers included Milligan’s mother, Dorothy, Del Moore, and Daniel Keyes, the writer. Milligan sat between his attorneys in handcuffs. Prosecutors, an Ohio Adult Parole Authority representative, and an attorney observer from Southwest Community Mental Health Center were also present. Before the substantive review began, Kinworthy recounted the commitment proceedings dating from December 4, 1978, when Milligan had been found not guilty by reason of insanity, through subsequent recommitments and up to the hearing nearly a year later. He identified the proceeding as one conducted under the relevant provisions of the Ohio Revised Code.

The Dispute over Placement

The immediate dispute was whether Milligan should remain at Lima or return to Athens. His attorney, Steve Thompson, argued that the expert witnesses supported Athens as the appropriate setting for long-term treatment. Thompson challenged the basis for the contrary assessment attributed to Dr. Milkie, arguing that it relied on past convictions and older evidence, and that Milkie was not an expert in multiple personality. This argument placed the clinical question of suitable treatment alongside the state’s concern that Milligan might pose a danger.

Kinworthy dealt first with procedural motions. He granted Assistant Attorney General David Belinky’s motion to separate witnesses, but denied Thompson’s request to return Milligan to Athens while considering alleged procedural defects in the transfer. After hearing the evidence, he did not immediately announce the final commitment decision. He took the matter under advisement, set a period of no more than ten days for a decision, and ordered that Milligan remain at Lima in the interim. The delay was consequential: the ruling would determine not merely the legal status of the commitment, but the institution in which Milligan would stay while that status was resolved.

Findings and Order

On December 10, 1979, Kinworthy’s court found Milligan to be mentally ill, describing a substantial disorder affecting thought, mood, perception, orientation, and memory that grossly impaired judgment, behavior, and the capacity to recognize reality. The court identified the condition as multiple personality. It further found that Milligan was subject to hospitalization because the evidence indicated substantial risks of physical harm to himself, including threats of suicide, and to others, including recent violent behavior. The stated findings also concluded that hospital treatment could benefit him and that such treatment was needed in light of behavior presenting grave and imminent risks to his and others’ substantial rights.

The written order directed Milligan’s commitment to Lima State Hospital for treatment consistent with the multiple-personality diagnosis, and directed that sealed copies of the findings be sent to the hospital. Kinworthy’s decision thus did not treat diagnosis as a substitute for the legal determination: it separately addressed Milligan’s mental condition, the asserted risks, and the need for hospitalization. At the same time, it made the diagnosis consequential by specifying that treatment should conform to it.

Significance

Kinworthy’s role in the episode was measured but decisive. He did not resolve the disagreement between the advocates for Athens and the state by returning Milligan there; he denied the immediate request, kept him at Lima pending decision, and then ordered continued commitment at that institution. Yet the order explicitly recognized multiple personality and required treatment consistent with that diagnosis. The ruling therefore combined a restrictive placement with a clinical directive, preserving the tension between the stated need for treatment and the conditions under which that treatment would be delivered.

The hearing also shows how Milligan’s legal and clinical history continued to shape later decisions after the insanity verdict. The verdict had addressed criminal responsibility for the charged acts; Kinworthy’s review concerned whether hospitalization remained warranted and where it would occur. By recounting the chain of commitment proceedings and applying the statutory review, he converted that history into a current order: Milligan would remain hospitalized at Lima, with the court’s diagnosis and treatment requirement formally attached to the commitment.