Implement the Guilty but Mentally Ill Verdict to the Minnesota Justice System

 

The purpose of this act is to get adequate mental help for guilty defendants in need of care and for the hope of

rehabilitation. It will be carried out by the courts in an orderly fashion as so decided by the judges and juries. It

will serve as a middle ground for the guilty, heeding to both the legal penalties and public's safety concerns regarding

the persons mental health.

 

This will solve the concern regarding the leeway given to guilty offenders who receive lesser punishments on the basis

of being not guilty on grounds of insanity. Appropriate treatment is mandatory to break the cycle of recidivism. We must

give the defendant proper treatment as a human and offer an equal opportunity for them to one day re-enter society. This

act will also decrease the number of cases with "not guilty by reason of insanity" as the verdict leading to exemption

of punishment.

 

(1) "leeway" the amount of freedom to move or act that is available.

(2) "recidivism" the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend.

(3) "exemption" the process of freeing or state of being free from an obligation or liability imposed on others.

(4) "heeding" pay attention to; take notice of.

 

This bill will take 10% of the tax money going to public prisons in Minnesota. The money will go to paying the mental

institutions to take in the defendants. However, if the defendant has an income over $100,000, they will be liable to

pay for the treatment instead.

 

The same verdict is reached as per usual, but mental treatment is required after being charged the sentence.

Furthermore, upon defendants with an income of over $100,000, the court shall penalize them as part of the sentence, and

they will be required to pay a financial penalty for the cost of the mental health treatment in its entirety.

 

Effective Immediately.