WHEREAS, the
State of New Jersey seeks to preserve the safety of its neighborhoods
and communities while recognizing the rights of persons at State
psychiatric facilities who have been found to be criminally insane;
and
WHEREAS, recent
events at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital evidence a need to
assess the manner in which the State houses and handles the criminally
insane;
NOW, THEREFORE,
I, CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, Governor of the State of New Jersey,
by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
by the Statutes of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
1. The creation
of the Task Force for the Review of the Treatment of the Criminally
Insane (hereinafter "Task Force") to study the current
practices employed by State psychiatric facilities in housing
and handling the criminally insane.
2. The Task
Force shall be composed of the Attorney General or his designee;
the Commissioner of the Department of Human Services or his designee;
a designee of the New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice; a Senator
to be appointed by the Senate President; an Assembly member to
be appointed by the Assembly Speaker; and not more than five members
of the public appointed by the Governor who may be professionals
or advocates experienced in the field of either criminal justice
or mental health. The Governor shall designate a chairman and
vice-chairman of the Task Force from among the members of the
Task Force. The members shall serve without compensation, but
shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance
of their duties subject to the availability of funds therefor.
The Department of Human Services and all other State departments
and agencies are hereby directed, to the extent not inconsistent
with law and within budgetary constraints, to cooperate with the
Task Force and to furnish it with such information, personnel
and assistance as are necessary to accomplish the purposes of
this Order.
3. The Task
Force is charged with considering such issues as security at State
psychiatric facilities and the rights of patients and persons
who reside nearby. Among the issues the Task Force will consider
are community notification of the identity of patients who leave
hospital grounds who have been found not guilty by reason of insanity,
and whether the current practice of housing the criminally insane
with the general facility population is appropriate. The Task
Force shall also identify possible options for the housing and
handling of the criminally insane.
4. The Task
Force shall complete its study and report to the Governor within
six months of the date the Task Force first convenes.
5. This
Order shall take effect immediately.
GIVEN,
under my hand and seal
this 12th day of September in the
Year of Our Lord, One Thousand
Nine Hundred and Ninety Six, and
of the Independence of the United
States, the Two Hundred and Twenty-First.
/s/
Christine Todd Whitman
Governor
Attest:
/s/ Michael
P. Torpey
Chief Counsel to the Governor
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