Stabbing victim to court: Jail won’t help, she needs treatment

There are only so many options in the justice system. Guilty but mentally ill allows her to be given treatment.

Stabbing victim to court: Jail won’t help, she needs treatment

DANVILLE — A woman stabbed in the arm with a knife by another woman believes jail won’t help the assailant.

Amy Zelner said Tammy L. Dinger, 35, of Suite B of 406 E. Market St., needs to be in a mental health facility where she can get counseling.

“There are only so many options in the justice system. Guilty but mentally ill allows her to be given treatment,” Montour County Judge Gary Norton told Zelner, 37, of Lewisburg, of Dinger whom he sentenced Monday.

Dinger said Zelner was her girlfriend — her partner — at the time.

Norton recommended Dinger receive treatment in a state correctional institution with a forensic mental health unit after stabbing Zelner in the arm July 27 on the second floor of 406 E. Market St.

Zelner told Norton after she was stabbed, she blacked out.

Dinger also told the judge she needed treatment. She said she was remorseful and understands she needs help. “I think I need help very much so to put me somewhere where I can get help all the time,” she said.

Dinger said she has been diagnosed with disorders including mood disorder, severe depression and borderline personality disorder.

Zelner said the stabbing impacted her to the extent that she admitted herself to a hospital for mental health treatment.

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