14 Years with No Trial

In early 2011 Tyberius Eaddy was living in a relative’s house in Blackshear. Though he had no steady employment, he was often helping family members and doing odd jobs around the community as a gardener or mechanic. His life fell apart that February, when police arrested him in Pierce County for allegedly assaulting a convenience store worker and stealing liquor. 

Instead of a timely trial, Tyberius was remanded to a state psychiatric hospital in Savannah. For the last 14 years he has been involuntarily committed there, often under heavy psychotropic medication, while state doctors have repeatedly changed their minds about whether he is capable of participating in his defense at trial. 

His confinement is approaching the maximum sentence for crimes for which he has never been convicted. Yet this summer, the Pierce County District Attorney declined requests to drop charges against the now 49-year-old man, which include forgery, shoplifting and armed assault. A judge then extended his committal order. 

The Eaddy family has watched this saga with anguish. They are unable to help clear Tyberius’ name, or bring him home — despite the fact that court records reviewed by The Current GA show that his underlying arrest involved conflicting evidence about whether he was involved to the alleged crimes.  

Due process is a cornerstone of American justice, something that provides people with the assurance that there is a set of procedures the government must follow before restricting certain unalienable rights. One of these is a chance for a fair hearing. In Eaddy’s case, this has not and may not occur. His two strongest advocates have no access to Tyberius’ medical records, and they can’t contest the state’s findings about Tyberius’ mental state, because he has never given power of attorney to them — and the mental findings prevent him from ever doing so. 

The Current’s summer reporting fellow Tyler Davis has investigated this complicated tale of Coastal Georgia’s criminal justice system.  

One of the major takeaways, Davis said, is that economically disadvantaged Georgians have a steep hill to climb to defend themselves when accused of a crime. When they have mental challenges, the challenges are even greater, because presiding judges hold the power to approve or ignore psychiatric decisions about mental competency, without ever ruling on the merits of evidence of a crime.

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