The Justice Report is a reader supported publication. Support our work by becoming a paid subscriber or making a one-time donation.
Raleigh, North Carolina — Last week a Wake County judge found Stephen J. Bynem, a 34-year-old Black man, not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2021 shooting death of UPS driver Dylan S. Wall, a 23-year-old White man. As a result, Bynem has been ordered to undergo indefinite psychiatric treatment at Central Region Hospital.
According to Raleigh police, Bynem left his home and promptly shot Wall while he was working in the 600 block of S. East Street on February 10, 2021.
Bynem’s neighbors told CBS 17 in Wake County they heard approximately 7 shots. They then attempted to resuscitate an unconscious Wall who later died at a nearby hospital.
Bynem was taken into custody by Raleigh police shortly thereafter.
One witness referred to the bloody scene as a “horror movie.”
“I just couldn’t believe that it was happening, I felt like I was in a horror movie almost,” one of Bynem’s neighbors said, “…you just don’t think it’s going to happen right outside of your house.”
In late October after multiple years of competency hearings, Bynem’s public defender motioned for further hearings to prove that Bynem “was insane at the time of the offense.”
In March of this year, Judge Gale M. Adams stated that, “[Bynem] is currently capable to proceed but has now questioned his mental status at the time of the offense.”
Adams subsequently permitted Central Region Hospital to conduct further investigation into the defense’s February motion to plead insanity and finally granted it on December 6.
According to the American Bar Association, insanity and competency are distinct concepts in criminal law. Insanity refers to a “defendant’s state of mind at the time of the offense,” while competency assesses their ability to understand legal proceedings and participate in their defense.
Bynem’s counsel at one time or another, made motions for both options.
Dylan Wall was a devoted family man and an active member of Teamsters 391, a union supporting package industry workers in Raleigh.
Jocelyn Wall, who is grieving the loss of her husband while raising their young son on her own, voiced her frustration on the verdict to ABC 11. “It’s been such a long journey, and this doesn’t feel like justice,” she said.
Stephen Bynem has a long history with the law.
His record includes several traffic offenses, including convictions for driving with a revoked license and wrong-way driving.
Bynem also has a conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia and two other dismissed charges: misdemeanor larceny and carrying a concealed weapon.
These charges were not directly related to the current case.
Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman defended the verdict when speaking with ABC 11 in Durham, saying that “there really is no way to move forward in a prosecution.”
“I think a lot of times for families it feels very hollow like there’s no justice that has been delivered here,” Freeman said, “…It is something that happens in really exceptional cases where the defendant has such severe mental illness that there really is no way to move forward in a prosecution [with] the intent that is needed…”
The insanity defense is rarely used in criminal trials. Legal experts estimate that successful insanity pleas occur in fewer than one-quarter of 1% of all felony cases in the United States.
In cases of intentional homicide, where tens of thousands occur annually nationwide, a successful insanity defense is even less common.
Freeman’s most recent Democrat party campaign website boasts of creating a “mental health diversion program that prioritizes treatment compliance and allows for dismissal of the underlying charge if they maintain compliance.”
She also “Provided implicit bias training for all her staff in 2020 and held facilitated discussions on race, equity and inclusion.”
Freeman estimates that Bynem’s time at Central Regional will “probably” amount to “the rest of his life,” however, the hospital’s primary goals do not appear to guarantee this.
According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Central Regional’s state-run psychiatric facility is focused on “eventual community re-integration for individuals hospitalized as a result of being found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity.”
While Bynem’s successful motion for an insanity defense is uncommon, competency hearings are frequently employed to indefinitely delay justice in Black on White homicides. This tactic allows offenders to evade prison, leaving victims’ families with a hollow sense of justice.
On New Year’s Day 2023, a Black man armed with a machete was arrested for allegedly killing a White newlywed, an act that shocked the quiet town of Upper Sandusky, which hadn’t seen a homicide in over 20 years. The case has since faced indefinite delays due to two separate motions challenging different aspects of the accused’s competency to stand trial.
The suspect, Bethel M. Bekele remains in a state run psych ward.
On February 1, 2023, in Dana Point, CA, a White emergency room physician Michael John Mammone was killed on the Pacific Coast Highway while riding his bicycle. The alleged suspect is 39-year-old Vanroy Evan Smith, a mixed-race Black man who allegedly ranted about “White privilege” after hitting Mammone and proceeding to stab him.
Recent case updates indicate that Smith began competency evaluations as recently as last year. While updates remain limited, it is clear that Smith is currently incarcerated, though he has not yet been added to a prison roster, suggesting a delay in the trial.
Additionally, the Jewish District Attorney failed to find a motive for the crime.
