House Judiciary Committee – Missouri House of Representatives Newsroom

House plan to create mental health courts advancing

A House committee has advanced a plan to create treatment courts in Missouri that would focus on mental health issues, and offer offenders treatment options as an alternative to incarceration. Its bipartisan supporters say it would be a meaningful expansion of the state’s successful treatment courts.

*Representative John Black (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

The mental health courts that would be created by House Bill 2064 would be similar to the already existing veteran courts, DWI courts, drug courts, and family treatment courts. In each of those, a defendant must go through a regimen of relevant treatment programs. Those who succeed, or graduate, can avoid prison time or having a crime appear on their record.

“The goal is that they receive treatment to help them overcome, have the tools that they are now aware of, that they’ve experienced, which they have available to them to maintain a lifestyle without the problems that haunted them,” said Representative John Black (R-Marshfield), the bill’s sponsor.

He said this would be a continuation of the existing treatment courts, which are widely viewed as an achievement by Missouri’s legal system and a cost-effective way to avoid incarceration. They allow offenders a chance to remain connected to and active in their communities while working and remaining with families. They are also associated with reductions in crime and the need for foster care, and with ensuring timely payment of child support.

Black noted that perhaps most importantly, “The percentages of those folks who are able to avoid recidivism … with those folks who have actually completed the treatment courts, are very impressive.”

The proposal is one recommendation to come from the Substance Abuse Treatment and Prevention Task Force, created under legislation passed in 2019 and chaired by Black. That task force sought to get a handle on what is happening throughout the state of Missouri and across all agencies, to deal with substance abuse issues.

One of its recommendations was to see that existing treatment courts receive more funding, as well as the creation of mental health treatment courts.

Black said among the existing treatment courts there is already a lot of overlap with mental health.

“In fact, it’s called, ‘co-occurring disorder,’ and if put the mental health courts in the statute, specifically, then they’re also available for funding. There are some people who are in jail and have a mental health problem and they’re there for that problem, when in fact it is a co-occurring disorder involving substance abuse. This just allows a more comprehensive treatment.”

Black said such courts would likely rely heavily on counseling that is specific to a given defendant’s circumstances, “and it is a tough program. It’s not something that’s easy. They have to invest a lot of effort in completing the program, so if there was a co-occurring problem – substance abuse would be the most likely – then the persons in that program would be referred not only to mental health professionals but also those folks that could help them with their substance abuse problem.”

The bill has been unanimously endorsed by the House Judiciary Committee, where it was praised by members of both parties. Ranking Democrat Representative Robert Sauls (Independence) said this is a subject that needs more attention.

“I can unequivocally say that we do not do enough to address mental health in this country or this state. I’ve seen it time and time again. I’ve seen it as a prosecutor, as a public defender, I’ve seen situations where people, quite frankly, possibly, wouldn’t have committed crimes if situations were addressed prior to,” Sauls said.

For any who question the effectiveness of the treatment courts Missouri already has, or the desire to expand on them, Black said one need only be present at a graduation. He called them, “inspiring, humbling, you see people who are there fully acknowledging that the program has turned their life around for themselves and their families. They show great gratitude to the elements of the treatment courts, including the prosecutor’s office, they usually organize the effort … it’s one of the things Missouri is doing well.”

VIDEO: Law mandating maintenance for children whose parents die in DUI crashes conceived in Missouri, has gone global, still proposed here

Laws are being passed or considered in multiple states and other nations which require those who kill parents while driving drunk to pay restitution to surviving children. Now the woman who is the driving force behind the idea says it’s time for it to be enacted where it began: Missouri.

*Mason and Bentley Williams (Photo courtesy: Cecelia Williams)*

In April 2021, in Jefferson County, a drunk driver caused an accident that killed 24-year-old Lacey Newton, 30-year-old Cordell Williams, and four-month-old Cordell Williams, Jr., of Bonne Terre. The couple left behind two surviving children, Bentley and Mason, now being cared for by Cordell’s mother, Cecelia Williams.

Williams soon began crafting what has become known as “Bentley and Mason’s Law,” or more commonly “Bentley’s Law.” It would require people who are convicted of killing a parent or parents while driving drunk to pay child support for the care of surviving children.

In the Missouri House, it is being sponsored for the third year by Representative Mike Henderson (R-Bonne Terre), in House Bill 1958.

“What we’re saying is, these people … should have responsibility, and we’re trying to use many of the same guidelines for determining that child support as you would for in a divorce situation.”

Williams on Wednesday told the members of the House Judiciary Committee, “This bill is not only about paying that restitution. This bill is about people understanding that there are true consequences to one’s actions, and when we add on the extra consequences of that child maintenance, we’re sending a message that you cannot just get in a vehicle and kill people.”

Henderson said in the wake of crashes of this nature, surviving children are left in many different situations.

“Sometimes there’s one parent left, sometimes there’s none. Sometimes they end up with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, or … they end up as a ward of the state in many instances.”

Williams said that some who have found themselves in her position, aren’t able to raise the surviving children, and their trauma is multiplied.

*Representative Mike Henderson (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

“I listened to a lady from New York … she said, ‘I don’t know what to do. I’m going to lose my grandson.’ She suffered so much because her family died and she had to give her grandson to the state because she could not afford him. She’s on a fixed income … to this day it kills her. She died all over again. She died the day that her family was killed, she died that day too, and she’ll die every single day that she wakes up.”

The committee also heard from the mother of 23-year-old Racheal Grace Neldon, who was one of four people killed in an accident she says was caused by a drunk driver in April of last year. Jennifer Neldon told the committee while this bill wouldn’t help her family, it could be a deterrent to at least some people who would drive drunk.

“This bill may be specific towards children when their parents are killed and my story is obviously different, but there are no survivors to charge, no court cases to sit through, but the advocacy and demand for change is still the same. This is a public health crisis and we as a society need to stand up and do something about it.”

Of the places that have enacted this policy, Williams said, “The bill passed in Tennessee in 2022. In 2023 it passed in Kentucky, Maine, and Texas. We have bills that are called ‘Bentley’s Law’ overseas … I received a call in the middle of the night from a news station in Korea. On March 17 of 2023, Bentley’s Act was introduced in Korea. This bill, now, is in Puerto Rico … we also have a bill in Guam.”

She told the committee she will testify in March before the Parliament of Canada, where such a law is being considered.

“This bill started here in Missouri, my hometown, my home state, and I would really love to see this bill pass where it started. It is needed here. Missouri has a problem and we need to fix it.”

The Committee’s chairman, Representative David Evans (R-West Plains), told Williams, “Certainly it is a tragedy; soul-piercing sadness, the brief little bit of understanding we have of what you’ve gone through, but on the other hand the uplifting and courage you’ve shown, the dedication to try to use that experience that you’ve gone through to, and literally have, change the laws, change the people of the world. That’s quite amazing, what you have done.”

The committee is expected to vote soon on Bentley and Mason’s Law.

See Cecelia Williams’ testimony to the House Judiciary Committee below:

House votes unanimously for child sexual abuse victims to have more time to sue

A measure to give victims of child sexual abuse more time to sue those responsible for their abuse was given a unanimous vote of support in the House last week. The bill reached the floor too late to become law this year, but its sponsor hopes that vote will give it momentum for future sessions.

*Representative Brian Seitz (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

In 2018 state law was changed to lift the statute of limitations on criminal prosecution of child sexual abuse, but in civil law a victim of childhood sexual abuse can only sue their abusers until they turn 31 or within three years of discovering that an injury or illness was the result of childhood sexual abuse, whichever occurs later. House Bill 367 would have extended that age limit to 41, and expand the scope of who can be sued to include anyone who enabled abuse or allowed it to continue, or who created a circumstance in which it could occur.

“Through no fault of their own, children who have been abused in the past are being victimized again by not being allowed to hold their perpetrators to account in civil actions,” said the bill’s sponsor, Representative Brian Seitz (R-Branson).

He said when the bill was heard by the House Judiciary Committee, people who experienced abuse as children in Missouri came from all over the state and as far away as Florida and Texas, to testify.

“Many came from my own district to testify to the atrocities committed against them as children but it’s too late for them to face those involved in a civil action because the statute of limitations had run out before they came to terms with their abuse,” said Seitz. “House Bill 376 cannot stop these past events but will allow for these children, now adults, to call the people – and I use that term loosely – to be held to account, and creates a path for civil actions to benefit the survivors and provide some form of restitution and accountability.”

Seitz refers to abuse that happened at Kanakuk Summer Camp at Branson, which in 2010 resulted in a former counselor there receiving two life sentences in Missouri prison.

“I bring forward House Bill 367 to the House Floor for Evan; for Elizabeth, whose brother, Trey, committed suicide in 2019 because of the abuse; for Keith; for Jody; for Jessica; and for Ashton.”

The House voted 150-0 for the bill’s perfection, or initial passage, which normally would be one step in the process toward it being sent to the Senate. In this case, said Seitz, it is a symbolic vote and one he hopes will lead to this change in Missouri law eventually being made.

One of the bill’s co-sponsors, Representative Raychel Proudie (D-Ferguson), called the bill, “incredible. It is one of the proudest things I’ve been able to look at this year … this is probably the best bill we’re going to hear on this floor this year. I ask the body’s unanimous support.”

With this year’s session ending on Friday, Seitz plans to pre-file the language of HB 367 again for the 2024 legislative session.

Prison nurseries proposal heard in House committee

A proposal to put a nursery in Missouri’s prisons has gone in front of a House committee.

*Representative Curtis Trent (Photo: Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)*

Bills filed by Representatives Bruce DeGroot (R-Ellisville) and Curtis Trent (R-Springfield) would let incarcerated women who meet certain conditions live with infants for up to 18 months.

The House Judiciary Committee heard that the program has been used in numerous other states, in some cases for decades. In those cases it has led to better outcomes for mothers and children and reduced recidivism among mothers. These and other factors have also saved money for those states.

Trent said in New York, more than 74-percent of women who left prison with their infants were still living at home with those children after 3 years, “which I think shows pretty readily that they haven’t [gone back to prison] at that point. They have maintained those family ties, and you see an improved outcome with all that.”

“We do want to take care of kids who are in a very precarious situation. We do want to do everything that we can to seek justice in the correctional system, but also make sure that justice doesn’t work an injustice by breaking a family apart that doesn’t have to be,” said Trent.

He said under the proposal, potential participants in the program would first be screened.

“We make sure that the mother will be screened for any kind of mental health problems that might exist and that there is no record of violent conduct or child abuse conduct that has occurred in the past, because the goal is to have better outcomes for children in all cases.”

The committee heard from Maggie Burke, who was a warden at a prison with a nursery, in Illinois. She assured the committee that these programs do work, and that Missouri should adopt one.

“You walk into any [prison], I’ve been in dozens of state facilities, and there is always a facility culture, and what you’ll see in every facility that has babies, you’ll see the culture is just different,” said Burke. “When you have babies in a facility it kind of lowers everybody’s anxiety.”

Representatives of the Department of Corrections told the committee that in anticipation of this proposal, they traveled recently to Indiana and viewed a prison nursery program there. They said they came away with ideas that could be utilized in Missouri, and suggestions for tweaks to the legislation filed by DeGroot and Trent.

*Maggie Burke, who was the warden at a prison in Illinois which had a nursery, testifies to the Missouri Judiciary Committee about that program.*

Representative Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R-Arnold) thanked the Department for working on this and said she sees it as a continuation of previous legislative efforts.

“Briefly I wanted to thank you both very much for your openness to this program and for leading the charge on the anti-shackling [of pregnant women] legislation four years ago,” said Coleman. “Thank you so much for your willingness to look at this, and thank you for your other work that you’ve been doing on human dignity.”

Liberty Democrat Mark Ellebracht said, “This is more of a comprehensive approach to taking a pro-life philosophy to folks in Missouri. It’s pro-mother, it’s pro-infant, it’s pro keeping families together.”

Lawmakers heard that in other states, prison nurseries are supported largely by donations from private groups, and the same is considered likely to happen in Missouri. Burke said Illinois’ program was funded without any state dollars.

The bills propose that the nursery would be regulated by the Department of Corrections, though it could hand some responsibility to the Department of Health and Senior Services.

DeGroot wasn’t able to be at the hearing, which focused on his bill.

The committee has not voted on the legislation.