New Mexico Supreme Court allows longer commitments for defendants found incompetent and dangerous
The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that the state Supreme Court upheld a district judge's 2017 decision to extend the criminal commitment of Ricky Quintana, who was accused of killing his roommate in Las Vegas, N.M., in 2003 and had repeatedly been found unable to stand trial because of schizophrenia. He had been committed to the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute.
The Mental Illness and Competency Code does not define a maximum sentence for these commitments, but defendants can be held up to the maximum they could have received had they been competent. The court held that this language contemplates aggravation, consistent with legislative intent for commitments to run as long as constitutionally permissible. The paper noted that the Administrative Office of the Courts says competency and dangerousness are reviewed every two years for committed defendants.
The ruling shapes how long people found incompetent and dangerous can remain in New Mexico's forensic hospital system, a question that later fed the state's competency-reform debates.
Source: New Mexico Supreme Court affirms extended commitment for some mentally ill defendants — Santa Fe New Mexican, by Victoria Traxler
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