(DailyAnswer.org) – A Californian woman who stabbed her boyfriend 108 times after entering psychosis while high on cannabis has been spared a jail sentence. After initially being charged with murder, Bryn Spejcher, 32, was found guilty in December 2023 of involuntary manslaughter and the judge ruled that she will face probation and community service and no jail time.
In the incident on May 26, 2018, Spejcher also stabbed her husky Arya before turning the knife on herself, resulting in police having to restrain her when they arrived at the scene. Trainee accountant Chad O’Melia, 26, was also a regular cannabis user, and both had taken hits from a bong loaded with marijuana before the incident according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Lawyers representing Spejcher have stood by the “psychosis” argument, stressing the dangers of high-potency marijuana and the serious dangers that come with it even in states where it has been legalized. Attorney Michael Goldstein insisted that the defense was not a “con job” as claimed by some and that it was based on the testimony of prosecution expert Dr. Kris Mohandie and renowned psychiatrist Dr. William Wirshing. Wirshing and Mohandie, two of four experts consulted in the trial, concluded that the side effects of the extremely potent marijuana smoked by Spejcher resulted in explosive violence that was both unpredictable and unforeseeable.
Sean O’Melia, the father of the victim, claimed that the judge favored educated white women and would have treated Spejcher very differently had she been male or of a different ethnic background. Sean is still campaigning for justice for his son and calling for a harsher sentence than the 100 hours of community service and two years of probation handed to Spejcher.
Spejcher survived 43 self-inflicted wounds and resulting surgeries and the state’s mental health expert ruled that she was “unconscious” when she carried out the attack. The high-concentration strain contained a 31.8% THC level. Marijuana is legal in California for prescribed medical users over the age of 18 and recreational users over the age of 21. As the case raised concerns about the dangers of the drug even in areas where it is legal, Sean O’Melia told Fox News that the justice system had completely failed his son.
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