Dying ex-doctor serving life for murder may soon be free after a conditional pardon and 2-year wait

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — 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.

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