Tennessee law named after slain Belmont student Jillian Ludwig advances in House

“Jillian’s Law,” a bill that would require mentally incompetent felony defendants to be committed to a mental health institution — and barred from owning or possessing guns — is again advancing in the Tennessee legislature.

House Bill 1640 is named after Belmont student Jillian Ludwig, who was killed in November by a stray bullet on an afternoon walk in a Nashville park near campus. The man charged with firing the bullet that killed Ludwig had been arrested many times, and previously found by a court to be mentally incompetent.

“[Jillian Ludwig] is in the grave right now because a person who was incompetent to assist in his own defense was charged with felonies in a court a couple hundred yards from here, and everybody in that courtroom knew that that individual was dangerous — everybody — and they just watched him walk out the door, because our laws are not strong enough,” House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland, said.

If passed, it would require defendants charged with a felony who are determined by a court as mentally incapable of assisting with their own defense to be immediately committed to a mental health facility.

Felony defendants committed under the proposed law would also be barred from owning or possessing guns.

“If you’re not competent to assist in your defense, you certainly do not need to have a deadly weapon in your hands,” Lamberth said.

Members of the House Finance Subcommittee unanimously passed the bill on Wednesday, after Gov. Bill Lee included full funding for the legislation in his budget amendment released this week.

The bill now goes to the full House Finance Committee. Companion legislation is awaiting consideration in the Senate Finance Committee.

“It’s a year after Covenant,” Lamberth said, referencing the March 27 shooting at the Nashville Christian school that left six people dead, including three children. “I hope it’s one of a whole bunch of bills that get passed in this chamber that, one step at a time, we make sure that there are no more Covenants, no more Jillian Ludwigs that lose their lives, no other families that have to go through this type of hell.”

The committee also approved a related bill, House Bill 1643, also sponsored by Lamberth, that would require the state to pay for court-ordered mental health screenings for misdemeanor defendants believed to be mentally incompetent to stand trial.

Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at [email protected]. 

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Jillian Ludwig: TN bill on mentally incompetent defendants advances