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Victim urges passage of S.193 to create Vermont forensic facility; racial-equity analyst warns against housing it inside prisons
Summary
At an April 15 House Judiciary hearing on S.193, victim Emily Perry urged lawmakers to create a state forensic facility to prevent defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity from returning to communities without treatment or notice; Laura Carter of the Office of Racial Equity warned a prison-based model risks worsening care, capacity shortfalls, and racial disparities.
At a House Judiciary Committee hearing on April 15, 2025, Emily Perry, who identified herself as a victim-survivor, urged lawmakers to adopt S.193 to create a Vermont forensic facility for defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI). Perry told the committee the lack of a state placement option left her family and community vulnerable when prosecutors accepted an NGRI plea in her sister’s murder case.
"My sister was murdered on May 3rd, 2021," Perry said. She recounted that, after the state's attorney agreed to an NGRI finding for her father, "there was nowhere in the law of where to send my father after his NGR findings," and that the initial plan called for returning him to the childhood home where the murder occurred. Perry said the absence of a secure, therapeutic placement…
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