Santa Barbara Judge Thomas Adams ruled that David Attias — the former UCSB student declared legally insane after plowing his car into a busy Isla Vista street 11 years ago, killing four pedestrians and seriously injuring a fifth — no longer poses a danger to the health and safety of others or himself and should be released from the confines of Patton state mental hospital where he’s been held since 2002.

Instead, Judge Adams granted Attias’s petition to be released to an unlocked outpatient treatment program, supervised by the state’s Forensic Conditional Release Program (CONREP) in Ventura County. In making his ruling, Adams — who presided over the initial trial when a jury found Attias not guilty by reason of insanity — relied heavily upon the testimony of the mental health professionals who’ve worked closely with Attias in the intervening years.

Adams described them as being “four highly educated, well trained, and extremely experienced” individuals. They’d worked with Attias “one-on-one,” he wrote in his ruling, and “had no vested interest in the outcome.”

Read more at the Santa Barbara Independent