Quincy man facing December 2023 arson charge released after two experts rule he was legally insane at time of offense

QUINCY — A Quincy man believed to have set fire to the apartment complex in which he was living in December 2023 was released from the Adams County Jail on Wednesday.

A trial for Joseph Lindsay, 26, was scheduled to begin April 7. He had been charged with aggravated arson while knowing people were present, a Class X felony. If he had been found guilty by a jury, he could have served between six and 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

However, during a status hearing in Adams County Circuit Court on Wednesday, the trial was dismissed after the Adams County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a nolle prosequi — a formal entry of record by the prosecuting attorney who declares he or she is unwilling to prosecute a case — before Circuit Judge Holly Henze.

Public Defender John Citro filed a motion for an affirmative defense in April 2024. In an affirmative defense, the defendant introduces evidence which, if found to be credible, will negate criminal liability, even if it is proven that the defendant committed the alleged acts. The party raising the affirmative defense has the burden of proof to establish that it applies.

Citro obtained state funds in 2024 to have a psychiatric evaluation done to assist in the presentation of a defense.

“(Lindsay) had an expert who had made a finding that (Lindsay) was not guilty because he was legally insane at the time of the offense,” Assistant State’s Attorney Laura Keck said. “So then we hired our own expert, and our own expert gave the same opinion. In light of that, there was not a way to proceed.

“If (Lindsay) still had mental health issues that needed to be treated, he could have been sent to (the Department of Human Services), but there isn’t an ongoing issue that needs further treatment for or that he can’t do on the outside — so he is released.”

Just after 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 5, 2023, officers with the Quincy Police Department, along with the Quincy Fire Department and Adams County Ambulance Service, responded to the report of a structure fire at 718 Kentucky. When officers arrived, they discovered a five-apartment dwelling was on fire. Officers evacuated the residents from the building, and the fire was extinguished. No immediate injuries from the fire were reported.

Lindsay, one of the residents of the dwelling, was not at the scene at the time of the fire. He was arrested Dec. 12, 2023, and had since been lodged in the Adams County Jail.