A bill that would’ve clarified laws regarding the placement of legally insane criminals in Connecticut died in the judiciary committee April 13.
Senate Bill 1027, which state officials argued would close a loophole in laws that determine where psychiatrically disabled patients go when they are deemed too dangerous for a maximum-security hospital, died in what legislators called the fallout from an email dispute between legislators fighting over a Supreme Court Justice nomination.
Staff members at the Whiting Forensic Division of Connecticut Valley Hospital said the bill was needed to protect employees and other patients injured in attacks at their facility. Whiting was the scene of a string of violent attacks in the past year, according to courant.com.
Francis Anderson, who was committed to Whiting for ten years but attacked staff members multiple times in his first year at the hospital, is currently fighting to stay in Whiting. Anderson’s case is pending before the state supreme court.
