LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Two state legislators from Louisville are taking action after WDRB News helped expose a dangerous loophole in Kentucky law.
State Sen. Morgan McGarvey, a Democrat, and Sen. Julie Raque Adams, a Republican, filed Senate Bill 188 on Thursday to close a gap in state law that has allowed some mentally ill defendants with histories of violence to walk free.
"It's going to make sure that if you're not competent to stand trial that you can get treatment that you need, or if you're not competent to stand trial and aren't responding to treatment at this point, then there's a way for the court to petition to make sure that you're not released into an unsafe environment either for you or for other people," McGarvey told WDRB News in January, when he drafted the bill.
Sen. Morgan McGarvey of Louisville speaks with a California neighborhood resident about Cane Madden. (2019 file photo)
WDRB News first spotlighted the problem after the Louisville Metro Police Department arrested Cane Madden, 30, in August 2019 for allegedly raping an 8-year-old girl and beating her with a shovel in Louisville's California neighborhood. Records show Madden has walked free from other violent episodes and might do so again because of the legal loophole.
Judges in Kentucky must decide, based on psychiatric evaluations, whether defendants can understand the charges against them and participate in their defense. If not, the charges are dropped, and prosecutors then file paperwork to have the defendant hospitalized for treatment.
However, three criteria, in a state law known as KRS § 202A.026, determe whether a mentally ill patient can be involuntarily hospitalized:
- The person must be deemed a danger to himself or others
- The person can reasonably benefit from treatment; and
- Hospitalization is the least restrictive treatment available
If any one of those criteria is not met, at any time during treatment, the hospital is required by law to release the person.
McGarvey hopes SB188 will pass during the 2020 Kentucky General Assembly.
"For us, the clock is ticking," he said in January.
Madden's next hearing in the alleged rape case is set for March 6.
Related Stories:
- Kentucky senator drafts bills to close dangerous loophole highlighted by rape of 8-year-old girl
- SUNDAY EDITION | Sex assaults highlight 'crazy loophole' freeing mentally ill defendants
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