Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Criminal Justice Insanity Defense topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate passes bill clarifying "guilty except for insanity" standards
Summary
House Bill 24 71 clarifies the causation standard for the guilty-except-for-insanity defense, requiring that a qualifying mental disorder be the primary cause and creating a 'but for' causation standard, sponsors said.
The Senate passed House Bill 24 71, a measure clarifying the use of the guilty-except-for-insanity defense in Oregon criminal proceedings, sponsors said on the floor.
Senator Broadman, carrying the bill, said the legislation clarifies that a qualifying mental disorder must be the primary cause of why an offense was committed and that the standard should be a “but for” standard of causation. The bill also requires that lack of substantial capacity not be principally the result of voluntary intoxication and seeks to avoid placing persons with nonqualifying disorders under the jurisdiction of the Psychiatric Security Review Board.
Broadman told colleagues the changes were negotiated with defense attorneys and district attorneys through a house-convened table and that the bill adjusts causation and capacity language without changing what constitutes a qualifying mental disorder. The bill passed on third reading; the clerk recorded a unanimous or near-unanimous roll call in favor and the measure was declared passed.
