Tennessee’s new ‘Jillian’s Law’ already being put to use

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A young woman’s death changed Tennessee’s law. Now that law is being put to use, possibly for the first time.

“Jillian’s Law,” which took effect on July 1, is named after 18-year-old Belmont University student Jillian Ludwig , who was hit and killed by a stray bullet last November. The alleged shooter was a repeat offender who was out on the street after being ruled incompetent to stand trial for a previous shooting.

The law, spearheaded by House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland), requires defendants who are ruled incompetent to stand trial be committed to a mental health facility, rather than be let loose without treatment.

In this first reported case, the defendant was ruled incompetent to stand trial for a string of felonies, like vandalism and burglary, and will be admitted into Middle Tennessee’s Mental Institute.

“Our office deals with public safety, and having this law in the books gives us another tool to be able to properly establish public safety and work for the benefit of everybody in the community,” said Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk. “Doctors, instead of the criminal justice system, deal with this person, but they’re not just having their cases dismissed and returned to the streets.”

In a vacuum, Funk said cases such as these are complex and vary depending on the person.

“By incompetence, it’s not just a mental health issue; it’s some issue with regards to whether or not they can understand the process, whether they can assist in their own defense,” explained Funk.

In order for “Jillian’s Law” to be applicable, the crime must be a felony. Funk said his office has identified about 30 people who meet that criteria but were let go in the previous system.

“Those folks were folks that we could foresee having a very high likelihood of committing other major crimes,” said Funk. “It does not surprise me that we had a case come through within the first month. If it had been six months, that would have surprised me that it took that long.”

Funk is optimistic that “Jillian’s Law” will quickly yield positive results; progress that, ideally, will lead to more collective change in the future.

“This is one of those areas where I think we can actually work on true bipartisanship and maybe, if we’re lucky, we can take our success here and expand it to some other areas of the law,” he said

News 2 reached out to Jillian’s mother, Jessica Ludwig, but we did not hear back before this story was published. However, Funk said his office will let the family know the new law is already being used in Tennessee.

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