GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

S	1 

SENATE BILL 359

Short Title:  Insanity Defense/Cond. Release.	(Public)

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Sponsors: Senators Albertson; Ballance, Carpenter, Cooper, Gulley, Kerr, Soles, and Winner.

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Referred to:  Judiciary.

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March 11, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO CLARIFY THAT THERE IS AN OPTION OF CONDITIONAL RELEASE FROM A MENTAL FACILITY FOR A PERSON FOUND NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY IN ADDITION TO DISCHARGE AND RELEASE FROM THE FACILITY.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  G.S. 122C-268.(i) reads as rewritten:
"(i)	The respondent shall bear the burden to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he (i) no longer has a mental illness as defined in G.S. 122C-3(21), or (ii) is no longer dangerous to others as defined in G.S. 122C-3(11)b. If the court is so satisfied, then the court shall order the respondent discharged and released or conditionally released in accordance with G.S. 122C-277. If the court finds that the respondent has not met his burden of proof, then the court shall order that inpatient commitment continue at a 24-hour facility designated pursuant to G.S. 122C-252 for a period not to exceed 90 days. The court shall make a written record of the facts that support its findings."
Section 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.