MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) – Continued concerns about the gap between the mental health and the criminal justice systems have Vermont lawmakers saying they will revisit the issue when they reconvene in January.
When someone is found incompetent to stand trial, they are sometimes released into the community under a “nonhospitalization order.”
One such example is Jordan Lawyer, 29, of Enosburgh. Lawyer is accused of killing his father and beating his mother with a baseball bat in their Enosburgh home in October.
Jordan Lawyer was found incompetent to stand trial in a previous case and was living at home with his parents, Todd and Robin Lawyer.
The Democratic chair of the Vermont House Judiciary Committee says Jordan Lawyer likely slipped through the cracks and there should have been more oversight.
“He was found incompetent to stand trial earlier and I’m not sure that the system really followed up sufficiently relating to the public safety concerns relating to that individual,” said Rep. Martin LaLonde, D-South Burlington.
Jordan Lawyer is currently being held without bail.