RICHMOND, Va. — On paper, Vince Gilmer was granted freedom more than two years ago. Later this week, he may actually leave prison.
The former small-town North Carolina doctor and convicted murderer whose medical mystery captured widespread attention after being documented in a popular radio program and a book, was conditionally pardoned in January 2022. But because of the strict terms attached to the pardon and what his advocates describe as delay or indifference from government officials and health care institutions, he’s remained behind bars in a southwest Virginia prison as his health deteriorated.
Gilmer, 61, has Huntington’s disease, a rare, devastating and incurable disorder that attacks the brain and affects patients’ cognition and physical abilities. His diagnosis — unraveled after his conviction by the physician who took over his practice and oddly enough shares his last name — was the basis of the pardon, which was granted after many years of advocacy.
Vince Gilmer admitted to killing his father, whom he accused at trial of committing horrific acts of sexual abuse against him as a child, and he received a life sentence. Though no one claims Gilmer is innocent, his supporters argue that the outcome of his 2005 trial, where he insisted on representing himself and jurors rejected his insanity defense, would likely have been different if he had been properly diagnosed at the time. They argued that mercy, in the form of admission to a treatment center, was the more appropriate outcome.
With the help of a North Carolina lawmaker, Gilmer’s medical practice successor and now advocate and legal guardian, Dr. Benjamin Gilmer, has found a hospital willing to accept Vince Gilmer as a long-term patient, in line with the pardon terms. He received confirmation from Virginia officials that Vince Gilmer will be released Thursday, he said in an interview.
“It’s such a beautiful moment. But at the same time, we’re all stressed and anxious because, you know, you never know what could happen in between … the door to the prison,” Benjamin Gilmer said.
The Virginia Department of Corrections did not directly address a question about when Gilmer would be released but confirmed in a written statement that it was working through “logistics” to establish a release date “as soon as possible.”
Benjamin Gilmer, who granted a series of interviews to discuss the case, recently visited the Marion Correctional Treatment Center where Vince Gilmer is in…
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