ad molested him just weeks before the murder, in opposition to Fentress' claims that the assault and murder were a one-time aberration as well as his course of psychiatric treatment.Under the provisions of the bill, a jury would be required to find that the defendant was suffering from mental disease or defect and the defendant was guilty of a crime. The plea of guilty but mentally ill could only be accepted with a prior hearing on the issue of mental illness.Upon reaching a verdict or accepting this plea, the court would sentence the defendant for their crime pursuant to the law upon any defendant convicted of the same crime. The defendant would then be remanded to a designated psychiatric center or correctional facility with a mental health unit. Should the mental illness abate, the defendant would then remain in prison for the duration of their sentence. Nineteen states have already enacted laws to allow a "guilty but mentally ill" verdict. In addition, three states have eliminated the insanity defense all together."The Senate has taken the lead in passing this bill several times. I urge the Assembly to pass it and help ensure that our criminal justice system protects the public and gives mentally ill criminals the treatment they need and deserve," said Senator Padavan.The following are examples of murderers who are free after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity:- Reuben Harris, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1966, even though he admitted he knew it was wrong to push a 63 year old woman in the path of an oncoming subway train.- April Dell'Olio, who was released in 1993 from the Rochester Psychiatric Center where she had been sent after being found not criminally responsible in the stabbing death of her boyfriend, David Eccleston of Chenango County.- Ricardo Caputo, who killed four women in the 1970's and a fifth, a psychiatrist, at the psychiatric facility to which he was sent after being declared unfit to st...
