UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _________________

No. 18-3006 _________________

JOSEPH WALLACE, Appellant

v.

SUPERINTENDENT MAHANOY SCI; ATTORNEY GENERAL PENNSYLVANIA _______________________

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania District Court No. 2-15-cv-05376 District Judge: The Honorable Jeffrey L. Schmehl __________________________

Argued March 9, 2021 Before: SMITH, Chief Judge, McKEE, and AMBRO, Circuit Judges

(Filed: June 22, 2021) Federal Public Defender Western District of Pennsylvania Lisa B. Freeland Samuel G. Saylor [ARGUED] Office of Federal Public Defender 1001 Liberty Avenue 1500 Liberty Center Pittsburgh, PA 15222 Counsel for Appellant Nicholas J. Casenta, Jr. [ARGUED] Chester County Office of the District Attorney Suite 4450 201 West Market Street P.O. Box 2746 West Chester, PA 19380 Counsel for Appellee _____________________

OPINION OF THE COURT _____________________ SMITH, Chief Judge.

More than twenty years ago, Joseph Wallace pleaded guilty but mentally ill (GBMI) to third-degree murder and related crimes. This appeal concerns his petition for a writ of habeas corpus that was due by 2 January 7, 2002, but which he did not file until September 13, 2015. He asks us now to excuse his decade-plus delay in filing the petition.

For much of his life, if not all of it, Wallace has suffered from severe mental illness, including bipolar disorder with psychotic features, chronic depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and major affective disorder; his illness has manifested at times as hallucinations, religious delusions, manic activity, and suicidal tendencies. It is undisputed that an acute psychotic episode led him to commit the crime for which he remains incarcerated today. Wallace contends that his mental illness so hampered his ability to think clearly that he could not reasonably have been expected to file for federal habeas relief at any time prior to September 2015. But after a painstaking review of the record, we cannot agree. Instead, we conclude that Wallace has not demonstrated his entitlement to equitable tolling that would allow us to extend the filing deadline for the duration of the period of excessive delay the record reveals.

In addition, Wallace claims that his prescribed use of the prescription drug Ritalin1 may have exacerbated his 1 Ritalin is the brand name for methylphenidate hydrochloride, a “mild central nervous system stimulant” 3 psychosis, rendering him involuntarily intoxicated or legally insane at the time of his crime such that he could not form the mens rea necessary for murder. But given the applicable law and the evidence of record, we are not persuaded that this claim permits Wallace to employ the narrow “actual innocence gateway,” McQuiggin v. Perkins, 569 U.S. 383, 386 (2013), to excuse him from the filing deadline for habeas petitions set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 2244.

We will affirm the District Court’s judgment dismissing Wallace’s habeas petition as untimely. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND2 On February 28, 2000, Wallace was in the throes of a severe psychotic episode. Early that morning, after a sleepless night, he got into bed with his wife, Eileen. Wallace was clutching a knife. After waiting ten or fifteen used to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy. JA 327–28. 2 The factual background and procedural history have been drawn from the contents of the appendix provided by the parties. The salient facts are largely undisputed. However, portions of the record appear to be missing or incomplete, likel