Man Who Pushed Woman In Front Of Subway Train To Be Released From Prison

Kendra Webdale came to New York City in 1996. She took to the city right away — finding a roommate and a job as a receptionist. She was a runner. On days off she lounged in Central Park, took photos, and worked on a screenplay.

In January of 1999 Webdale was waiting for the N train at the 23rd Street station. Andrew Goldstein, a man with a history of schizophrenia and violent outbursts, asked her for the time. When she looked down, he pushed her in front of an oncoming train. She died instantly.

"She was pretty, perky, gentle, kind, fun, mischievous," Webdale's mother, Patricia told the New York Times a few days later.

In the two years before Webdale’s death, Goldstein was admitted to the hospital 14 times for mental health issue. Each time he was treated for a few weeks, medicated and released. During this period he assaulted 13 people including a nurse, and two psychiatrists.

And then on that cold January day he crossed paths with Kendra Webdale.

In his 1999 confession to police, Goldstein described the feeling that came over him as he stood on the platform that day. It was the same sensation he’d felt in the past before a violent outburst.

''What happened was this train is coming and then it goes away again, and then it comes back again. And then the train is almost there and I said, 'Oh no, it happened.' You know I go into the fit again, like I've done this in the past, and I pushed the woman, not meaning to push her on the tracks, but I shoved her, not knowing which direction I was going, coming or going, and then she fell onto the track and then I went into shock, horror.''

In the years between Goldstein’s arrest and his 2006 conviction for manslaughter, Patricia Webdale became an outspoken supporter of mental health advocacy. Patricia believed that Goldstein had fallen through the cracks of a broken and underfunded system. She felt that if he’d received the help he needed, Kendra would be alive.

The legislation she championed, Kendra’s Law, has become the gold standard for programs that now exist around the country known as Assisted Outpatient Therapy, or AOT.

The law effectively eliminates the revolving door system that failed Goldstein and cost Webdale her life. When Goldstein is conditionally released from Sing Sing prison on September 14 after serving 19 years, he will be a prime candidate for Kendra’s Law.

A moving and clear-eyed profile of Goldstein published in New York magazine this week reports that while his treatment plan hasn’t been disclosed, it should follow the traditional process for AOT as laid out in Kendra's Law. This includes an evaluation by a clinical team, a psychiatrist, and a judge to create a treatment plan. The most likely option for Goldstein will be a closely monitored drug regimen combined with therapy. He and his medical team will check in regularly with the court to ensure compliance.

Goldstein has expressed his willingness to participate and his appreciation for the program. In 2012 he told the New York Post, “If you are a harm to anyone, even yourself, you should be hospitalized."

In New York magazine he reiterated this stance on a law enacted in large part due to a crime he committed. “You know, it’s a really good law,” said Goldstein now 48, “Not like some totalitarian law where they could just throw you in a mental hospital. They have legal requirements, a hearing, yes sir.”

John Snook, executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, explained to Refinery29 that the program helps the people who have traditionally had trouble following their treatment plan, due in large part to their mental illness.

"There is a growing recognition that if you allow [mentally ill] people to deteriorate, the only way they get treatment is by being a danger to themselves or someone else. We can’t predict violence in an unsupervised person with a severe mental disability. [Without AOT] it’s basically a coin flip," says Snook.

Nearly all states have implemented similar programs since the passage of Kendra’s law — the three exceptions are Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maryland. A 2009 study from Duke University found that AOT significantly reduced psychiatric hospitalizations and arrests.

Too often, prisons become the default method method for dealing with the mentally ill. Snook points out that in the Webdale’s support for AOT, they recognized, even in their grief, an opportunity to change the system for the better.

“They recognized the reality that more needed to be done than just punishment.”

Goldstein has repeatedly expressed remorse for killing Webdale. He says that he would like to lay a wreath on her grave when he is released from prison but worries “that a crowd will surround him, beating him and yelling, “You killed Kendra! You killed Kendra!”

Shown a picture of Webdale, Goldstein said, "To destroy a perfect life like that is a horrible thing. I don’t know why I did that ..."