Supreme Court upholds mandatory psychiatric medication for man fervent about Geneva Bible

Man met criteria as a danger to himself or others

A South Dakota man who was deemed a danger to himself and others can be forced to take psychotropic medications in an attempt to improve his mental condition, the Supreme Court has ruled.

B.T., a man identified by his initials, appealed a circuit court ruling that he be forced to take medication. B.T. had been admitted to the Human Services Center in Yankton, and following a hearing, a circuit court judge agreed that B.T. should be required to take psychotropic medicines for up to one year.

B.T. had been admitted to HSC as an involuntary committal after the Yankton County Board of Mental Illness found that he was exhibiting manic, delusional and threatening behavior “connected to his fervent religious views.”

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