Dennis Sweeney
Encyclopedia
Dennis Sweeney was an anti-Vietnam War
protestor and civil rights activist in the 1960s. He worked with SNCC
in their voter registration drives in Mississippi
. During his time at Stanford University
, he was the protegé of Allard Lowenstein, a political organizer who would later serve one term as a congressman from New York
.
As described in the David Harris 1982 autobiographical book Dreams Die Hard
, Sweeney succumbed to mental illness and became paranoid and delusional, believing that Lowenstein was the central figure in an elaborate plot against him. Sweeney shot and killed Lowenstein in his New York City law office on March 14, 1980, after which he turned himself in to the police. After being declared criminally insane in February, 1981, he was convicted and served eight years in the Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Center, New York's maximum security psychiatric hospital. He was moved to a lower-security psychiatric hospital, and eventually started being released for furloughs for increasing amounts of time. His diagnosis was that of paranoid schizophrenia.
Sweeney was ultimately released from any level of custody in 2000 over the objections of Lowenstein's family (who had previously opposed prosecutorial plans to seek a sentence of death for Sweeney), prosecutors and New York mental health professionals. At the time of his release, he had been off medication for six years and had been regularly given access to the community outside the hospital, being required to spend only one night every two weeks in the hospital. Justice Brenda Soloff of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
ruled that he was not a threat and ordered him released.
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
protestor and civil rights activist in the 1960s. He worked with SNCC
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ' was one of the principal organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. It emerged from a series of student meetings led by Ella Baker held at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina in April 1960...
in their voter registration drives in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. During his time at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, he was the protegé of Allard Lowenstein, a political organizer who would later serve one term as a congressman from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
As described in the David Harris 1982 autobiographical book Dreams Die Hard
Dreams Die Hard
Dreams Die Hard is an autobiographical book written in 1982 by David Harris, a prominent anti-Vietnam War activist during the 1960s.The book chronicles the experiences of three men--Harris, Allard Lowenstein, and Dennis Sweeney--amid the political and social tumult of the 1960s, as well as the...
, Sweeney succumbed to mental illness and became paranoid and delusional, believing that Lowenstein was the central figure in an elaborate plot against him. Sweeney shot and killed Lowenstein in his New York City law office on March 14, 1980, after which he turned himself in to the police. After being declared criminally insane in February, 1981, he was convicted and served eight years in the Mid-Hudson Psychiatric Center, New York's maximum security psychiatric hospital. He was moved to a lower-security psychiatric hospital, and eventually started being released for furloughs for increasing amounts of time. His diagnosis was that of paranoid schizophrenia.
Sweeney was ultimately released from any level of custody in 2000 over the objections of Lowenstein's family (who had previously opposed prosecutorial plans to seek a sentence of death for Sweeney), prosecutors and New York mental health professionals. At the time of his release, he had been off medication for six years and had been regularly given access to the community outside the hospital, being required to spend only one night every two weeks in the hospital. Justice Brenda Soloff of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
New York Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in thestate court system of New York, United States. There is a supreme court in each of New York State's 62 counties, although some smaller counties share judges with neighboring counties...
ruled that he was not a threat and ordered him released.