Kansas House committee hears bill to open new competency evaluation and restoration pathways beyond Larned
The House Judiciary Committee minutes record testimony on HB 2697, which would create additional paths for defendants to be evaluated and restored to competency, including electronic evaluations and sites such as community mental health centers and county jails. The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, the ACLU of Kansas, a Wyandotte County prosecutor's office, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office and Wyandot Behavioral Health Network supported it, and the Disability Rights Center of Kansas opposed it over judicial-review concerns.
Witnesses cited waits at Larned of 11 months or more, 17 Wyandotte County defendants awaiting placement for up to 328 days as of February 14, 2022, and a case in which a person spent 2,138 days in jail awaiting evaluation despite a 480-day sentence once the case concluded.
The hearing came three months before the ACLU filed its class action over the same delays.
Source: MINUTES OF THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE — Kansas Legislature, by Kansas House Judiciary Committee
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