S.B. 1112, An Act Concerning Commitment of a Person Found Not Guilty by Reason of Mental Disease or Defect

By limiting the amount of time an acquittee is under the supervision of the Psychiatric Security Review Board (PSRB) and providing the opportunity for civil commitment in a hospital for people who are unable to be discharged because they pose a danger to themselves or others or because they are gravely disabled, this bill ensures that acquittees are not committed to the jurisdiction of the PSRB longer than is necessary. Current Connecticut law allows an acquittee’s maximum commitment to be extended under a recommitment process. Under this process, someone who is a danger to themselves or others can potentially be under the jurisdiction of the PSRB for their entire life. It is unfair and unjust to extend a maximum commitment by any length of time. A court cannot simply extend the length of a person’s incarceration when the person has served the maximum amount of time for the crime for which they were convicted. They should not have the ability to do so when the person is an acquittee under the supervision of the PSRB.