The escape and recapture of Phillip Paul, a mentally ill killer and patient at Eastern State Hospital, did not begin the discussion about reforming the way our state handles mentally ill offenders. Many of us involved in public safety policy and administration have been working on this issue for years.
During the 2009 legislative session, I proposed Senate Bill 5253, which would create a new category in criminal proceedings between guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. The new category, called guilty and mentally ill, applies to offenders who knowingly commit a crime but also suffer from a mental illness. That is, offenders might be mentally ill when they commit their crimes, but they still know what theyre doing is wrong.
Someone like Paul, who has the foresight to cover up the evidence of his crime, certainly isnt so gravely mentally ill that he should be found not guilty by reason of insanity. That designation should be reserved for the people who are unaware that what theyve done is a crime.
Paul is an example of someone who ended up at a state mental hospital when prison would have been a more appropriate placement because of valid concerns for public safety.
Guilty and mentally ill would not replace not guilty by reason of insanity, rather it would be a third option. The bill would also grant a judge or jury the ability to find an offender guilty and mentally ill, so if the evidence presented at trial doesnt support an offenders plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, a judge or jury could return a guilty and mentally ill verdict instead.
Currently, felony offenders who are found not guilty by reason of insanity are sent to Eastern or Western State Hospital and may be housed for long periods of time at an enormous cost to taxpayers. A year for an offender in state prison costs the public about $30,000, while a year for a mentally ill offender in a state hospital costs taxpayers about $180,000.
In addition, some offenders are returned to society relatively quickly and end up spending very little time in treatment before being released with no criminal record because they were found not guilty.
My bill would put those found guilty and mentally ill under the control of the Department of Corrections, but house them temporarily in a Department of Social and Health Services mental hospital. Once the offenders illness is stabilized, he or she would be transferred to state prison to continue treatment while serving the remainder of his or her sentence.
Because the DOC would supervise the offenders if and when they get out of prison, it would ensure that they continue taking any medication and would be able to step in if they begin having problems.
The idea has already received a favorable response from the governor and the secretary of DSHS. I look forward to continuing to work with the governor and my colleagues in the state Senate and House of Representatives to see this guilty and mentally ill proposal become law.
Together, we can get the mentally ill the treatment they need and keep the public safer by ensuring offenders are sent where they can best be managed by the state.
State Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, represents the 28th Legislative District.
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