2006 Media Releases:

CAMDEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE
JAMES P. LYNCH, ACTING CAMDEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR
MEDIA INFORMATION

May 4, 2006

Acting Camden County Prosecutor James P. Lynch reported that a 38-year-old defendant was found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity today in the killing of a fellow inmate at the Camden County Correctional Facility in January 2004 in Camden, N.J.

Marvin Lister was charged with Murder in the fatal beating of Joel Seidel, 65, of Cherry Hill, on Jan. 27, 2004. Judge Irvin J. Snyder of Superior Court in Camden ruled today that Lister meets the legal standard for insanity.

In addition to ruling on the Murder charge, Judge Snyder also found Lister Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity on two counts of Sexual Assault against a fellow patient at Ancora State Psychiatric Hospital in Winslow in February 2003 and on a charge of Terroristic Threats against an Ancora doctor in June 2003.

The judge noted Lister’s long and well-documented history of acute mental illness and violent behavior. Diagnoses include schizophrenia, paranoia and multiple substance abuse. Based on numerous psychiatric evaluations and reports, Judge Snyder ruled that Lister “did not understand the nature and quality of his acts” and “did not know that his acts were wrong” at the time of the offenses.

Assistant Prosecutor Mary Alison Albright, Deputy Section Chief of the Homicide Unit in the Prosecutor’s Office, noted that a psychiatric expert hired by her office to evaluate Lister concurred with other experts, concluding that Lister met the legal standard for insanity.

Judge Snyder ordered Lister committed to the Ann Klein Forensic Center, where he has been held in recent months, or other state psychiatric facility with the appropriate level of security. Lister will remain committed indefinitely, subject to periodic reviews of his psychiatric status. The judge set Aug. 4, 2006, for the first review. Reviews are normally held annually after the initial three-month review.