Violent Crime and Mental Illness

A Washington state court has found Cordell Goosby not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2023 broad-daylight shooting that killed 34-year-old pregnant Seattle restaurant owner Eina Kwon and her unborn child and wounded her husband, Sung Kwon, as they sat at a red light. Prosecutors said Goosby sprinted up to the couple’s Tesla on June 13, 2023, and emptied a stolen handgun into the vehicle before fleeing; officers later arrested him after he allegedly raised his hands and said, "I did it! I did it!" Goosby, who was barred from possessing firearms due to an Illinois criminal record, was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder, but mental-health experts for both the prosecution and defense concluded he met Washington’s legal standard for insanity at the time of the shooting. Under King County’s explanation of the ruling, an insanity verdict means he admits committing the acts but will be committed to a state psychiatric hospital, with any future release requiring sign-off from multiple state and court authorities. The case, which shocked Seattle’s downtown business community and fueled anger over violent crime and untreated mental illness, is already drawing renewed debate online about whether insanity commitments adequately protect the public and how often prosecutors agree to such findings in deadly attacks.