The defense began presenting its case today in the trial of the man accused of being the Columbus area's highway shooter.
Attorneys representing 29-year-old Charles McCoy concede he's the man who shot at moving vehicles, houses and a school over a five-month period, but say he didn't understand right from wrong because of untreated paranoid schizophrenia.Defense Attorney Mark Collins told the jurors that McCoy did not have the ability to make proper choices because of his mental illness. Collins said, "The disease chose McCoy. It cannot be predicted. It cannot be cured. It can only be treated."
McCoy would be hospitalized if a jury accepts his plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. If convicted, he could face the death penalty because of the one death that occurred during the shootings.