An accused murderer awaits trial eight years after his arrest

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – When Bill Haynes was studying music in college, he told his mother that he didn't see himself as a teacher. After just one day of volunteering at an elementary school in Kentucky, he changed his mind.

“He said, 'I see why you like it, Mom,'” said Kay White, his mother, herself a former teacher. “He said, 'Those kids were so great.' I don’t think he ever stopped feeling that way.”

Haynes taught music in public schools for more than 30 years, most of that time in Georgia and at E. Rivers Elementary in Atlanta.

When Haynes wasn't in the classroom, he was the conductor of the Alpharetta City Band. “Bill had an incredible ear,” said band member Dan Mayhue, and “When he had to criticize you, he did it in a joking way so you didn't feel like he was making fun of you,” he told Rob Rickles, another band member.

Haynes' life of music came to a sudden end eight days before Christmas 2016 when police found him dead in a warehouse in Sandy Springs. He was 53.

Police say Justin Paul Hess attacked Haynes with a knife; Investigators said he killed his own mother, Carol Ann Hess, the same day.

Nearly eight years after Hess' arrest, he was never convicted of a crime because doctors said he was incompetent to stand trial.

While Hess' court-appointed attorney, Kevin Rodgers, doesn't believe his client will ever be mentally competent to stand trial, the Cobb County District Attorney's Office hopes to one day take the case to a jury.

Outgoing District Attorney Flynn Broady believes Hess may have been faking his mental illness to avoid prison time. “Maybe he’s cheating the system because he’s smart enough to know the law [and] “Smart enough to follow the law and know right from wrong and help him defend himself,” Broady said.[andto}knowrightfromwrongandaidinhisdefense”Broadysaid[andto}knowrightfromwrongandaidinhisdefense”Broadysaid

If Hess is found competent, he will initially be charged in Cobb County for allegedly killing his mother there. He would then be tried in Fulton County, where Hess is accused of killing Haynes.

If Hess is found guilty of his mother's murder, he could face life in prison without parole. This ruling could persuade the Fulton County District Attorney's Office to agree to a plea deal to avoid a redundant outcome. This is something Weiss doesn't want to see. “I want a jury to listen and make a decision,” she said, “and then I want him to be found innocent or guilty.”

Videos of Hess posted on YouTube before his arrest show him holding military rifles and railing against the government. “We've got some bullies here to deal with and it's pretty clear what needs to happen,” he said in a video.

In another film, Hess can be heard talking to Cobb County police officers after someone saw him running with an assault rifle. In the video, Hess clearly states his gun rights and Georgia law.

“You don't plan on going to any grocery stores or anything like that?” the officer asked. “No, sir. I will not enter private or federal businesses,” Hess responded. “Just trying to show people that not everyone is trying to exercise their rights or use a firearm is a crazy thing.”

For White, the video of Hess speaking to officers shows he knows the difference between right and wrong.

According to county records, Hess spent most of his nearly eight years in prison not in the Cobb County Jail but at Georgia Regional Hospital, a state hospital that provides psychiatric services.

In 2021, a doctor concluded that Hess was competent to stand trial, but when the trial was set to begin months later, Cobb County Superior Court Judge Julie Adams Jacobs requested another competency evaluation and ordered the Georgia Department of Behavior Health and Developmental Disabilities is responsible for doing it.

That assessment took 118 days, which further delayed Hess's trial date. Last year, Jacobs hired the agency to conduct another competency assessment. This time it took 356 days.

A Atlanta News Initial Investigation The pattern of delays uncovered in the Hess case is not an isolated problem. State records show this happens statewide, often crippling Georgia's criminal justice system and delaying justice for defendants and victims of crime.

During a legislative committee meeting in January, the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Behavior Health and Developmental Disabilities spoke to lawmakers about a dramatic increase in court-ordered mental health services being used for defendants.

“This is what gives me heartburn and keeps me up at night,” said Kevin Tanner, standing next to a presentation showing a 195 percent increase in the number of people seeking treatment at state hospitals from 2021 to December 2023 and competency assessment await.

Tanner's agency's goal is to complete assessments within 45 days. In some parts of the state, the average is more than six times that. While the Covid pandemic has played a significant role in the surge, other issues are also at play.

Tanner said there aren't enough beds available at its state psychiatric hospitals for people who need treatment in Georgia. This includes people experiencing a mental health crisis and those charged with crimes who require recovery services to compete in court.

Tanner said of the 641 available beds in state hospitals, about half are for patients who were placed in the agency's care because a judge declared them insane. That leaves only about 300 beds that can be used regularly for forensic restoration services, which include defendants like Hess.

Tanner said about 700 people are on the waiting list for a bed at a state hospital. He said a recent audit shows the state needs eight more crisis centers in the next decade. The state also needs about 119 forensic beds by next year to meet demand. This number is expected to increase as Georgia's population grows.

“We’re running at full speed with the number of beds we have,” Tanner said, adding that Georgia also doesn’t have enough mental health professionals to treat defendants. The job vacancy rate for state forensic psychologists is 34%, and while Tanner said those professionals recently received a raise, it hasn't closed the gap.

“When you hear that Georgia is ranked poorly and access to mental health is poor, it's not because of the quality of care we provide in Georgia, it's because of the fact that in our state, per capita per population, we just don't have enough licensed clinicians,” Tanner said. “We don’t have enough psychologists in Georgia.”

While Tanner waits to see whether lawmakers will increase funding, he said his office is working with local jails to house and treat some defendants who need restorative services. These are people who, according to Tanner, receive the same service as a state hospital, but in local detention centers.

For example, the agency is funding about 14 forensic beds at a Chatham County Sheriff's Office jail near Savannah. The Cobb County Jail operates approximately these 20 beds.

“There is no quick fix solution here,” Tanner said. “It will take some time. Of course we need to have more capacity in the system.”

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