Share:
House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2017 - 2018
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | February 13, 2017 11:48 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Carol Hill-Evans |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Post-Conviction Review for Veterans with PTSD or TBI (Re-Introduction) |
| In the near future, I will re-introduce legislation – former House Bill 2406 of the 2015-2016 Legislative Session – that would allow inappropriately sentenced veterans with the ability to apply for post-conviction review of their sentence. Eligible veterans would include those suffering from PTSD or TBI incurred while serving their country in a combat zone. My bill proposes to establish a process for post-conviction relief for veterans incurring PTSD or TBI while serving their country in the military. Currently, a veteran may present these as mitigating factors during the sentencing for a crime. This bill would allow incarcerated veterans diagnosed after imprisonment to apply to the court for relief putting forward their diagnosis of PTSD or TBI as a mitigating factor in the crime for which they were charged. According to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund:
My bill would allow a person convicted of a criminal offense for crimes where TBI or PTSD are alleged to be contributing factors to apply for post-conviction review related to the investigation or prosecution that resulted in the judgment of conviction by making a written motion to the sentencing court for review of the case. I think that we owe it to those veterans serving an inappropriate sentence the opportunity to have a post-conviction review of their case and the ability to enter into evidence their diagnosis of PTSD or TBI as a mitigating circumstance and to have the charges reviewed by the court. As PTSD was not a recognized mental illness until 1980, and research concerning TBIs is in its infancy, we especially owe those vets this opportunity. Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation. |