BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1281
Page A
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1281 (Blakeslee)
As Amended April 24, 2012
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :37-0
PUBLIC SAFETY 6-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Ammiano, Knight, Cedillo, | | |
| |Hagman, Mitchell, Skinner | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Requires that where a psychiatrist or psychologist
evaluates a defendant for purposes of a plea of not guilty by reason
of insanity (NGI), the evaluation report shall include the
following: a defendant's substance abuse history, his or her
substance use history on the day of the commission of the offense, a
review of the police report of the offense, and any other credible
and relevant material reasonably necessary to describe the facts of
the offense.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States "It is fundamental �justice] that a person cannot be
convicted for acts performed while insane. This �is part of the]
. . . fundamental principle that wrongful intent is an essential
element of crime?".
2)Provides "In any criminal �or juvenile delinquency] proceeding . .
. �the] defense �of not guilty by reason of insanity] shall be
found . . . only when the accused person proves by a preponderance
of the evidence that he or she was incapable of knowing or
understanding the nature and quality of his or her act and of
distinguishing right from wrong at the time of the commission of
the offense."<1>
3)Provides that Penal Code Section 25 must be read in the
alternative to be constitutional. That is, a defendant was insane
if he or she was either a) incapable of knowing or understanding
------------------------------
<1> This test of insanity - typically called the" M'Naghten
Standard" - was developed in England in 1843.
SB 1281
Page B
the nature and quality of the act, or b) incapable of
distinguishing right from wrong at the time of the offense.
4)Provides the following concerning voluntary intoxication:
a) Voluntary intoxication is not a defense to a crime; but
b) Voluntary intoxication is admissible on whether a defendant
formed the criminal element of specific intent; and,
c) In a murder prosecution, voluntary intoxication is
admissible on the issue of whether the defendant premeditated,
deliberated or harbored express malice.
5)Provides that a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity shall
not be found "solely on the basis of a personality or adjustment
disorder, a seizure disorder, or an addiction to, or abuse of,
intoxicating substances."
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "The patient population in state
hospitals had dramatically changed over the past two decades. In
the mid-1990's, 80 percent of the patients were civil commitments,
and only 20 percent of patients had committed a crime. Today, the
numbers have switched with 90 percent of patients having committed a
crime. The result has been a stark increase in violence within the
state hospital system. The situation was sadly epitomized with the
assault and death of Donna Gross, a psychiatric technician at Napa
State Hospital who was murdered by Jess Willard Massey who has been
committed on the basis of not guilty by reason of insanity.
"Assaults on staff are increasingly common. Attacks on staff in the
second quarter of 2010 doubled to about 200 compared with the same
period of 2009, and patient assaults against one another increased
almost six-fold to 692. In February 2012, there were five assaults
on staff just at Atascadero State Hospital. Our state hospitals
were designed to be centers for rehabilitation and the treatment of
mental health disorder. The rise assaults has violently disrupted
the therapy environment and hindered the delivery of care that
patients need and deserve.
"SB 1281 seeks to improve the safety of our state hospitals for both
SB 1281
Page C
staff and fellow patients by preventing malingering individuals from
transferring to a mental health facility in the first place. The
State of California and UC Davis partnered on a study of NGRI �not
guilty by reason of insanity] patients committed to Napa State
Hospital. The study results highlight a disturbing trend in the
evaluations conducted on behalf of the court and used to inform
juries regarding the sanity of defendants. In almost half of the
cases (44%), the court appointed evaluator failed to prepare the
report consistent and pursuant state standards. Two-thirds of the
time (66%) the evaluator failed to consider drug or alcohol use at
the time of the offense.
"The study findings indicate that a substantial number of NGRI
acquittees may have inappropriately received a NGRI finding based on
lack of an adequate evaluation and faulty application of the
California insanity statute by court examiners. This implies that
the increased violence at our state hospital may be attributed to
sane and competent criminally violent individuals, which puts
patients seeking mental health treatment and the staff that serve
them in harm's way. SB 1281 represents a significant step in
protecting patients and staff from violent individuals who should
never have been committed to a state hospital in the first place.
"At a time in which employee morale is low and fear is high at our
state hospitals, SB 1281 represents an opportunity for the
Legislature and the Administration to take a significant step in
improving the work environment for treatment providers who are
currently responsible for managing individuals inappropriately
committed. The true cost of these inappropriate commitments is
borne by the staff and fellow patients who carry the bruises, broken
bones, and scars - sometimes to their grave - from assaults that
occur because of these procedural mistakes."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0004045
SB 1281
Page D