Criminal defendants with mental illnesses; civil inpatient commitment guidelines for criminal defendants further provided

HB515 INTRODUCED
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HB515
XDYXG7E-1
By Representative Bolton
RFD: Judiciary
First Read: 26-Feb-26
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XDYXG7E-1 02/19/2026 EGC (L)EGC 2026-801
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First Read: 26-Feb-26
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, relating to criminal
defendants with mental illness, the definition of
"defendant" includes individuals in a criminal case who
have been found not guilty by reason of insanity or not
guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
This bill would further define "defendant" to
include an individual who the court has determined is
incompetent to stand trial and who is not restorable to
competency.
This bill would provide that the Department of
Mental Health shall not provide custody, care, and
treatment for longer than the maximum sentence a
defendant could receive for the crime for which he or
she is convicted, with exceptions for a defendant
charged with capital murder or who otherwise continues
to meet civil inpatient commitment criteria.
This bill would also make nonsubstantive,
technical revisions to update the existing code
language to current style.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
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AN ACT
Relating to criminal defendants with mental illness; to
amend Sections 15-16-61 and 15-16-71, Code of Alabama 1975; to
further provide for civil inpatient commitment guidelines for
criminal defendants; and to make nonsubstantive, technical
revisions to update the existing code language to current
style.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Sections 15-16-61 and 15-16-71, Code of
Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
"§15-16-61
The following definitions shall apply to this
article For the purposes of this article, the following terms
have the following meanings :
(1) COURT. The court whichthat committed the defendant
pursuant to Section 15-16-43.
(2) DEFENDANT. A defendant in a criminal case who has
been found not guilty by reason of insanity, or not guilty by
reason of mental disease or defect, or is determined by the
court to be incompetent to proceed to trial or not restorable
to competency within a reasonable time, and has been committed
to the custody of the Alabama State Department of Mental
Health and Mental Retardation or another facility as provided
by Section 15-16-43.
(3) DEPARTMENT. The State Department of Mental Health
and Mental Retardation .
(4) DISTRICT ATTORNEY. The district attorney for the
judicial circuit of the court whichthat committed the
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judicial circuit of the court whichthat committed the
defendant pursuant to Section 15-16-43.
(5) REGIONAL OR COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH FACILITY. Any
mental health facility providing mental health services
pursuant to Sections 22-51-1 through 22-51-14."
"§15-16-71
(a) If at any time after a defendant has been
conditionally released, it appears that removal of some of the
conditions or release of the defendant without conditions will
not cause the defendant to pose a real and present threat of
substantial harm to himself , herself, or to others by being at
large, the court, after a hearing, shall remove the
unnecessary conditions, or it shall order the defendant
released unconditionally and terminate its jurisdiction over
the case, as the case may be. All such hearings shall be
preceded by notice to the department and to the parties
required to be notified in Section 15-16-63.
(b) The department, or its designated provider, shall
not provide custody, care, and treatment for a period of time
exceeding the maximum sentence the defendant could receive if
convicted of the crime with which he or she is charged, or no
longer than 20 years, whichever is less, notwithstanding Rule
11 and Rule 25 of the Alabama Rules of Criminal Procedure,
except for a defendant who:
(1) Is charged with capital murder; or
(2) Otherwise continues to meet civil inpatient
commitment criteria.
(c) The court shall consider the guidelines in this
section when the circuit judge issues his or her initial order
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section when the circuit judge issues his or her initial order
of commitment to the department. "
Section 2. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2026.
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