AP: Vermont is the only state without a locked facility for defendants found incompetent, and lawmakers consider building one
Under current practice the Department of Mental Health will hold a defendant found incompetent only while the person has a clinical need for hospital-level care; once stabilized, the person is moved back to community monitoring or the case is sent to family court. S.193 would create a corrections-run facility for people who are incompetent or not guilty by reason of insanity, do not need acute psychiatric care, and face life sentences.
The story opens with Darren Pronto of Pownal, who was found incompetent, treated at a psychiatric hospital and released before the killing of a 26-year-old woman for which he is now charged. He has since spent about three years in jail without a conviction. The department's general counsel told the reporters Vermont has real gaps, while Rep. Anne Donahue said the current system can already address public safety and that the facility is unnecessary.
Vermont lawmakers have tried to create a similar facility before; a 2024 proposal was dropped before the bill became law.
Source: Vermont has no facility for people incompetent to stand trial. Could that finally change? — Associated Press / VTDigger (via Boston.com), by Charlotte Oliver/VTDigger, Associated Press
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