Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sb295 Competency Timeline topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sponsor: extend competency-restoration deadline from 1 to 5 years for most serious charges
Summary
Senator Patton said SB 295 would extend the competency-restoration timeline for aggravated murder-level charges from one year to five years and require facilities to report medication refusals to the court within 14 days, tolling restoration time during refusals.
Senator Patton introduced Senate Bill 295 in the State Judiciary Committee, saying the measure would extend the timeline for competency-restoration treatment in the most serious charges — including aggravated murder and murder of a police officer — from one year to five years.
Patton cited the July 2024 homicide of Cleveland police officer Jamieson Ritter and the competency proceedings involving the defendant, Delonte Hardy, who was initially found incompetent and refused treatment for several months. Patton said that under current law a one-year treatment period can be ‘‘run out’’ if a defendant refuses medication, and he proposed (1) extending the timeline to five years for the most serious charges, (2) requiring the chief clinical officer of a treatment facility to report medication refusals to the court within 14 days, and (3) tolling the competency-restoration clock for periods when medication was refused.
Patton said the bill aims to prevent a situation in which a defendant might be released if competency is not restored within the current one-year limit. The committee recorded the sponsor’s testimony and left SB 295 as a first hearing.
