CHAPTER 652
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 47, TITLE 11, DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO MENTALLY ILL DEFENDANTS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:
Section 1. Title 11 of the Delaware Code, is amended by striking section 4702 in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof a new section 4702 to read as follows:
§ 4702. Disposition of person found not guilty by reason of mental illness
(a) Whenever a determination is made that a person is "not guilty by reason of mental illness", the court shall order that the person so acquitted be committed to the Delaware State Hospital.
(b) Whenever a person is committed pursuant to subsection (a), the court shall review at least twice per year the status of such person and at such time as the court is informed by the Delaware State Hospital that the defendant no longer represents a danger to the public he shall:
(i) be released from custody; or
(ii) be temporarily released from custody under such conditions of treatment and for such period of time as the court may prescribe.
Section 2. Title 11 of the Delaware Code, is amended by striking Section 4703 in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof a new Section 4703 to read as follows:
§ 4703. Mental illness after conviction but before sentence
(a) Whenever it appears to the Superior Court that a defendant has become mentally ill after conviction and before sentence, the Superior Court shall, for purposes of obtaining information, appoint a commission to inquire into the mental condition of such defendant.
(b) Such investigatory commission shall:
(i) Consist of one psychiatrist, one practicing physician, and one layman;
(ii) Be compensated in an amount to be determined by the Superior Court;
() Be empowered to examine witnesses on oath and to order the taking of testimony out of the State.
(c) Should the Superior Court find the defendant to be mentally ill, he shall be committed to the Delaware State Hospital in the department for criminally mentally ill persons.
(d) Should the defendant be committed to the Delaware State Hospital, the Superior Court shall review at least twice per year the status of the defendant and at such time as the defendant recovers, he shall receive the sentence for his crime, with the time of commitment in the Delaware State Hospital computed as part of the sentence.
Approved July 3, 1970.