Under existing law, relating to criminal defendants with mental illness, the definition of "defendant" includes individuals in a criminal case who have been found not guilty by reason of insanity or not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. This bill would further define "defendant" to include an individual who the court has determined is incompetent to stand trial and who is not restorable to competency. This bill would provide that the Department of Mental Health shall not provide custody, care, and treatment for longer than the maximum sentence a defendant could receive for the crime for which he or she is convicted, with exceptions for a defendant charged with capital murder or who otherwise continues to meet civil inpatient commitment criteria. This bill would also make nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing code language to current style.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 15-16-61, 15-16-71