NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — House Majority Leader and State Rep. William Lamberth hopes to double the number of treatment beds for people charged with a crime but are found not competent to stand trial because of an intellectual disability.
It comes after NewsChannel 5 Investigates reported that some judges were upset with the lack of treatment beds after the passage of Jillian's Law last year.
The law, which is named after Belmont student Jillian Ludwig, who was shot and killed while walking in a park, requires that people found not competent to stand trial receive treatment instead of simply being released back to the streets.
The man police say shot Ludwig had a long criminal history, which included shooting into a moving car, but because he was intellectually disabled, he was released.
Currently, the state has only six treatment beds for the entire state for people who are intellectually disabled and charged with a crime — all of which are located at the Harold Jordan Center in Nashville.
Lamberth's budget proposal would increase the number of treatment beds from six to 12.
He said he is authorizing the Department of Disability and Aging to use money that was already in their budget.
"We have provided tax dollars — your money — to be able to go to those beds, and so when we hear from the Department that they just need authorization to use that money to expand them, it's important that they do so," Lamberth said.
In January, Davidson County Judge Melissa Blackburn told NewsChannel 5 Investigates the lack of available beds for people with intellectual disabilities was a "disaster."
Lamberth was the primary sponsor of Jillian's Law, which passed last year.
Jillian's Law only funded two additional beds for those with intellectual disabilities, which raised the number of treatment beds from four to six.
But the Department of Disability and Aging said it has trouble staffing the six beds it currently has.
In January, one of the beds was not in operation because the state could not find staffing. Lamberth said he expects the Department to find staffing for all 12 of the funded beds.
"As long we continue to keep an eye on it and you all continue to keep an eye on it, then I am confident they will expand those beds," Lamberth said. "Those are folks that are dangerous, some are accused of very heinous crimes. They do not need to be out just wandering the streets."
In a statement today, Judge Blackburn agreed. She oversees the mental health docket.
"It is encouraging to see the greater emphasis the state is placing on solutions to help those suffering from intellectual disabilities while working to improve public safety." Judge Blackburn said. "When intellectual disability results in a violent crime, it touches the victims and their families as well as those struggling with the disability."
A spokesperson for the Department of Disability and Aging said it is following the budget process.
The spokesperson said the Department has found staffing for all of the six beds currently funded for those with intellectual disabilities.
Intellectual disabilities often involve a brain injury, which is difficult to treat to a level that restores competency. Those who stay at Harold Jordan Center remain there until they regain competency, but in some cases, that isn't possible with an intellectual disability.
That means they may never reach the competency threshold to be held criminally liable for what happened.
Who is Jillian Ludwig?
Jillian, 18, was shot and killed in 2023. She was running on the track in the Edgehill Community Gardens Park near Belmont University, where she was a freshman. She lay there for an hour before anyone found her.
Shaquille Taylor, a person previously declared mentally incompetent, is the primary suspect in the shooting.
Taylor had been declared mentally incompetent in the past — which means he had to be released. In May 2023, Taylor was released from custody after three court-appointed psychologists deemed him incompetent to stand trial. They found he didn't pose an imminent threat to himself or others. Then in September 2023, Taylor was charged with auto theft and released on bail, but an arrest warrant was issued for him when he failed to show up for court.
Taylor has an intellectual disability and language impairment, according to court records obtained by NewsChannel 5.
That determination meant he wasn't able to participate in a trial where he was accused of shooting into a car in 2021 off of Dickerson Pike where a 3-year-old and 1-year-old were in the back seat. He admitted to detectives in 2021 that he did it.
Doctors have informed a Nashville judge that Taylor still has a mental disability and is not competent to stand trial in Ludwig's case. It will now be up to a Nashville judge whether or not to accept that determination.
What is Jillian's Law?
Jillian's family pushed for state law to change since her death, and they were successful.
This year, the law changed to say those found unfit would have to receive inpatient or outpatient treatment, and the court would have to keep up with their progress. That person would also never be allowed to own a firearm again. If that person were able to regain competency, the person's criminal proceedings would restart, meaning they could stand trial for their crimes.
Lamberth sponsored the bill. He and Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville, worked on this legislation after Jillian died.
Her parents stood in the House gallery with a portrait of Jillian in their hands when the bill passed.
