Man to spend 16 years in psych hospital for Tucson killing

Michael Lynn Steele, 40, was charged with first-degree murder in June 2004 after police said he shot and killed Elton Prunty.

In December 2006, Steele was civilly committed to the Arizona State Hospital in Phoenix after doctors determined Steele was a paranoid schizophrenic and probably would never be competent enough to stand trial.

Last July, prosecutors re-indicted Steele on the murder charge after his civil commitment ended.

Last month, Steele pleaded guilty except insane to second-degree murder and agreed to serve a 16-year sentence at the Arizona State Hospital.

Steele was formally sentenced Wednesday after Prunty’s mother, Diane Harris, was given a chance to address the judge.

Harris expressed displeasure with the criminal justice system and spoke about the loss of her son, an “honorable” man who fought personal demons, but was much loved.

While she was often unable to voice her opinions on the case, Harris said her son’s killer was always treated with “kindness and respect.”

Doctors at the state hospital can release Steele before the end of his sentence if they determine he is no longer a danger to himself or others, said Rick Unklesbay, chief trial counsel for the Pima County Attorney’s Office. However, Steele would remain under the supervision of the Psychiatric Security Review Board, which can hospitalize him again at any time without a hearing.

Court documents indicate that at one point Steele was convinced an outlaw motorcycle gang, the Aryan Brotherhood and the New World Order wanted to kill him and were plotting to take over the world. He also believed many of Tucson's police officers, lawyers and judges were actually bikers who were in on the conspiracy.

Steele told authorities he was burglarizing a house with Prunty when he saw a photo that convinced him Prunty had set him up and was going to hurt him. He said he shot Prunty in self-defense.

At that time, Steele wanted to go to trial, insisting he wasn’t mentally ill and a "truth serum" would prove he was telling the truth.