Attorney: Son of slain Rock Hill lawyer suffered ‘psychotic episode’

Osiris Hinton suffered a “psychotic episode” due to wrongly prescribed medication just before his father, prominent Rock Hill criminal defense lawyer O. Cyrus Hinton, was shot and killed Sunday at the family’s Spartanburg home, his lawyer told a judge Friday morning.

Attorney Michael Brown, Cyrus Hinton’s former law partner, told Circuit Court Judge R. Scott Sprouse that Osiris Hinton, who is charged with murder, had been hospitalized previously during his three-year struggle with mental illness.

He asked Sprouse to allow Hinton to post bond so he could attend his father’s funeral, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Shelby, N.C.

Seventh Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette opposed bond for Hinton, saying he was “worried he is a danger to himself.”

Sprouse denied bond, but he said if Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright approved, Hinton could attend, under guard, a separate viewing and wake for his father. A decision on whether that will happen has not been made.

Police say Osiris Hinton, 23, told them, “I killed my father,” when they showed up after the shooting. He has been in jail since.

This story was originally published April 17, 2015 at 2:54 PM with the headline "Attorney: Son of slain Rock Hill lawyer suffered ‘psychotic episode’."