Giancola to remain hospitalized

Doctors at the Cleveland psychiatric hospital where Giancola is being held said she needs to stay there.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A Canfield Township woman will stay in a psychiatric hospital for drowning her twins more than three years ago.
But Annette Giancola's lawyer said her condition is improving and a hearing will be set to determine whether she should be permitted to have more privileges during her incarceration.
Giancola, 40, drowned her 31/2-year-old twins in the bathtub of their home on St. Angela Place in March 1997. She was later found innocent by reason of insanity and has been in state psychiatric institutions since.
Under Ohio law, her status is reviewed every two years. If doctors feel she has made enough progress, she could eventually be released.
Her attorney, Scott Cochran, said doctors at Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare System in Cleveland evaluated Giancola and felt she needs to remain hospitalized. Cochran did not object to the finding, which was upheld Friday by Judge Robert Lisotto of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Improvements: Cochran said doctors do feel that Giancola has improved to the point that she could be permitted to leave the hospital campus with supervision, but Judge Lisotto would have to approve that. She is currently not permitted to leave the hospital except for court appearances.
She had argued in court earlier this year that she did not want to take certain medications doctors prescribed for her, but Judge Lisotto ruled that hospital personnel can force her to take them.
Since then, she has been taking the medicines on her own and getting better, Cochran said.