Tennessee lawmakers pass bill to involuntarily commit some defendants judged incompetent for trial

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s Republican-led Legislature unanimously passed a bill Monday that would involuntarily commit certain criminal defendants for inpatient treatment and temporarily remove their gun rights if they are ruled incompetent to stand trial due to intellectual disability or mental illness.

The proposal is named for college student Jillian Ludwig, who was killed in November after she was hit by a stray bullet while walking near the Belmont University campus in Nashville.

The suspect charged in her shooting had faced three charges of assault with a deadly weapon from 2021, but a judge dismissed the charges when three doctors testified that he was incompetent to stand trial because he is severely intellectually disabled. Because he did not qualify for involuntary commitment to a mental health institution, he was released from prison.