Todd Hall, the Lawrence County man accused of starting the Scottown fireworks fire four years ago, returned to court today.

Wednesday, March 15, 2000

Todd Hall, the Lawrence County man accused of starting the Scottown fireworks fire four years ago, returned to court today. Hall was scheduled to appear at 3 p.m. before Lawrence County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Walton, who will examine a state mental health official’s report about his ongoing psychiatric treatment.

Hall was found incompetent to stand trial on arson and involuntary manslaughter charges related to the 1996 fire that killed nine people and is still serving a court-ordered two-year commitment in a state mental health facility.

"By law, the court has to review his progress every two years," said Abbie Franks, victim advocate in Lawrence County Prosecutor J.B. Collier Jr.’s office.

"This is a continued commitment hearing," Ms. Franks said. "We’ve looked at the report and nothing has changed. We anticipate a continuance."

State doctors first recommended committing Hall in September 1997, then later transferred him from a maximum security facility to Cambridge Psychiatric Hospital, according to court records.

In March 1998, Walton ordered the two-year commitment, finding Hall still a danger to himself and the public.

Last summer, Cambridge doctors said behavioral disturbances, including physical assaults, had made Hall a management problem, according to court records.

As a clinical trial, doctors planned to give Hall more freedom of movement, such as visits with his father, while remaining restricted to hospital grounds. In July, the hospital recommended Hall get one-hour visits, followed by up to two hours in later visits.

Hospital doctors also required Hall to meet behavioral goals – such as taking all his medications, making no assaults and controlling verbal threats – for six days in order to receive the visits, doctors wrote in a letter to the court.

The court agreed to the conditions in a July 22 letter.

Today’s hearing on his progress had already been scheduled.