Amendment ID: S2572-4-R1

Redraft Amendment 4

Mental Health Care for Incarcerated People

Messrs. Eldridge and Hinds, Ms. Chang-Diaz, Ms. Comerford, Ms. Rausch, Ms. Jehlen, Mr. Gomez and Ms. Moran move that the proposed new draft be amended by inserting after section 30 the following 2 sections:-

“SECTION 30A. Section 18 of chapter 123 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 27 to 34, inclusive, the words “; provided, however, that, notwithstanding the court’s failure, after an initial hearing or after any subsequent hearing, to make a finding required for commitment to the Bridgewater state hospital, the prisoner shall be confined at said hospital if the findings required for commitment to a facility are made and if the commissioner of correction certifies to the court that confinement of the prisoner at the hospital is necessary to insure his continued retention in custody”.

SECTION 30B. Said section 18 of said chapter 123, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after subsection (a) the following subsection:-

(a ½) (1) For purposes of this subsection, “mental health watch” shall mean a status intended to protect a prisoner from a risk of imminent and serious self-harm.

(2) A prisoner or a prisoner’s legal representative, or a mental health staff person by request of a prisoner, may petition to the district court that has jurisdiction over the prisoner’s place of detention or, if the prisoner is awaiting trial, to the court that has jurisdiction of the criminal case to be transferred to a suitable inpatient psychiatric facility or unit licensed or operated by the department of mental health or to Bridgewater state hospital. The court may order the prisoner’s requested transfer if the prisoner: (i) has been on mental health watch for at least 24 hours; or (ii) is at serious risk of imminent and serious self-harm. A transfer ordered under this subsection shall only be ordered to Bridgewater state hospital if: (i) the prisoner is male and no bed is available in a timely manner at a unit licensed or operated by the department of mental health; or (ii) (A) the prisoner is not a proper subject for commitment to an inpatient psychiatric facility or unit licensed or operated by the department of mental health; and (B) the failure to retain the prisoner in strict custody would create a likelihood of serious harm. When a prisoner has been on mental health watch for 24 hours, and once every 24 hours thereafter that the prisoner remains on mental health watch, a member of the mental health staff of the place of detention shall advise the prisoner of the prisoner’s right to petition under this subsection and ask the prisoner if the prisoner would like a mental health staff person to petition on the prisoner’s behalf. If the prisoner requests, either orally or in writing, that a mental health staff person petition under this subsection, a mental health staff person shall file a petition with the appropriate court within 8 hours. If the prisoner, a prisoner’s legal representative or a mental health staff person files a petition in a court that lacks jurisdiction under this subsection, the clerk of the court shall, as soon as is practicable, determine the court with jurisdiction and forward the petition to that court for adjudication. The court may order periodic reviews of transfers under this subsection.