"He was court ordered to receive treatment at a psychiatric hospital. But, after his mental health stabilized in the hospital setting, mental health officials were required to release him and monitor him in the community. It was after that release that he allegedly murdered Carroll's daughter. Carroll thinks his release shouldn't have happened, that there should have been some alternative."
"Almost all states have a locked facility for people who are facing charges for violent crimes but are deemed incompetent to stand trial or found not guilty by reason of insanity, according to Karen Barber, general counsel for the Vermont Department of Mental Health. But Vermont has never had one. "We have real gaps in our system," Barber said. Vermont lawmakers have tried to address those gaps for years."
Kelly Carroll's 26-year-old daughter was killed after the accused, previously charged with violent crimes, was found incompetent to stand trial and court-ordered to psychiatric treatment. After stabilization in a hospital, mental health officials released and monitored him in the community, and he allegedly committed the murder following that release. Vermont lacks a locked forensic psychiatric facility that many states use for defendants deemed incompetent or not guilty by reason of insanity. State law allows transfer to family court or Department of Mental Health custody only when a clinical treatment need exists. Lawmakers are debating changes to balance defendants' rights, treatment needs, and public safety.
Read at Boston.com
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