A man committed to psychiatric care for six months after he threatened to kill Gov. Kate Brown didn't meet the legal threshold for being held and treated against his will, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.

In June 2015, Tyrone Waters left an expletive-laden voicemail with Brown's office repeatedly stating that he planned to "kill" Brown or that she was "dead" because she was his "enemy."

Although the Appeals Court described the voicemail as “highly disturbing,” judges ruled there was no evidence that Waters, who was living in San Diego at the time, had actual plans to follow through on his threats.

Other concerning behavior -- including that Waters thought he was a bounty hunter and he carried handcuffs and pepper spray -- didn't prove he was "highly likely" to harm to himself or others, which is the legal standard for civil commitments in Oregon, the Appeals Court ruled.

The court said it had no evidence to show Waters had used the handcuffs or pepper spray to take anyone into custody.

The court found that Multnomah County Circuit Judge Pro Tem Elizabeth Fithian-Barrett erred in committing Waters in September 2015.

Waters, who was 49 then, is the son of former state Sen. Avel Gordly, who has spoken publicly of his struggles. Her advocacy for all people with mental illness prompted Oregon Health & Science University in 2008 to rename its behavioral health unit the Avel Gordly Center for Healing.

Neither Waters or Gordly could be reached for comment.

Waters’ battles with mental illness began in his 20s, when he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. In 2001, he was sent to a Portland psychiatric hospital after he hallucinated and pointed a pellet gun at police officers in front of his grandfather’s home in North Portland, according to the Appeals Court summary.

Waters stabilized on medication and did well for years after that, the court stated. He worked as a peer counselor for Cascadia Behavioral Health, but then switched medication and became consumed with fear about living in the United State as a gay, African American man, the court summary said.

He worried that others would hurt or kill him and unsuccessfully sought asylum in Canada in 2015, the summary states.

Months later, he left the hostile voicemail with the governor’s office.

Waters' successful appeal of his civil commitment is somewhat of a hollow victory. He was committed to a psychiatric care for up to 180 days in 2015, and that term has long passed.

But the ruling does once again establish the high bar that Oregon appellate courts have set for committing people with mental illness against their will.

The decision was made by a three-judge panel of the Appeals Court. Judges Joel DeVore and Roger DeHoog ruled for the majority. Judge Erin Lagesen dissented, saying it was “highly likely” that Waters was a danger to himself and others, given the evidence in the case.

Read the majority and dissenting opinions here.

-- Aimee Green