Bill > HB1058

This bill proposes modifications to Colorado's legal framework regarding the Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity (NGRI) defense, with several key provisions. The bill updates and standardizes language across multiple statutes related to mental health defenses in criminal proceedings, focusing on clarifying definitions, procedures, and processes for defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity. Specifically, the bill makes technical changes to how mental conditions are defined, including specifying that an abnormality manifested only by repeated criminal conduct does not constitute a mental disease or defect. The bill also updates terminology to be more gender-neutral, replacing phrases like "his or her" with "the defendant's" throughout the legal code. Additionally, the bill provides more detailed guidelines for mental health examinations, including requirements for video and audio recording of evaluations and protections to preserve the defendant's presumption of innocence during such examinations. The modifications apply to different time periods of criminal offenses, with some provisions specific to offenses committed before or after certain dates, ensuring a comprehensive update to the state's approach to mental health defenses in criminal proceedings.

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https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb25-1058