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Senate adopts bill adjusting NGRI procedures after failed amendments on victim notice and review
Summary
The Colorado Senate on Feb. 9 adopted Senate Bill 14, revising procedures for defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) after debate and a series of failed amendments that would have increased victim notifications, required annual judicial review of community placements, and limited unconditional release for serious felony offenders.
The Colorado Senate adopted Senate Bill 14 on Feb. 9, a measure revising aspects of the states handling of defendants adjudicated not guilty by reason of insanity. The bill was taken up on a judiciary committee report and passed after floor debate and votes that rejected multiple amendments seeking additional guardrails.
Sponsor Senator Michaelson Genet moved the committee report and described the bill as addressing treatment of persons with behavioral health disorders in criminal and juvenile justice settings, including technical cleanups and procedures for release from state hospital custody. She asked for support for the bill as reported by committee.
Senator Carson, who offered several amendments, argued for stronger victim protections and ongoing review. Introducing amendment L1004, Carson said, "this amendment guarantees that victims are provided timely notice of all substantive defense filings related to a defendant found not guilty by reason of insanity, including but not limited to filings concerning commitment, conditional release, or modification of placement." He said the change was intended to ensure victims and families have notice and time to prepare victim-impact statements and to enhance community safety.
Senator Amabile opposed that first amendment, arguing existing statutes already "substantially" cover the matters raised and warning against creating legal uncertainty by changing statutory language already addressed in law. Other amendments offered by Senator Carson attempted to require annual judicial review of community placements (L1005) and to bar certain defendants with recent violent histories or those convicted of class 1class 3 felonies from unconditional release (L1003 and L1002). Those amendments were debated but each failed on floor votes.
Senators debating the measure split along questions of whether current procedures and departmental oversight (including courts and the Department of Human Services) were sufficient or whether additional statutory checks were needed. Senator Samuels and others warned of risks posed by some individuals in less restrictive community settings, while senators including Mabala and Amabile emphasized that the existing process is lengthy and involves clinical determinations, courts, and victims.
After the amendment votes failed, the Senate voted to adopt Senate Bill 14. The bill will proceed per the Senate calendar and was ordered for engrossment and placement for final passage steps as recorded in the committee report.
The floor debate lasted through multiple amendment votes that the Senate recorded as lost before final adoption of the bill. The next procedural steps recorded on the floor included the committee of the whole report noting SB14 passed second reading and was ordered engrossed.
