HB2170 Summary

• Adds definitions to Arkansas Code establishing criteria for "serious mental illness," including schizophrenia spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, delusional disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and traumatic brain injury as classified in the DSM as of January 1, 2017.

• Creates a petition process allowing defendants charged with or sentenced to death to allege serious mental illness; requires courts to appoint two licensed psychiatrists or psychologists to evaluate the defendant and provide written reports.

• Establishes that defendants must prove serious mental illness by preponderance of the evidence at a court hearing, with the court issuing written findings within 30 days.

• Prohibits the state from seeking the death penalty if a court determines the defendant has a serious mental illness, though life imprisonment without parole remains available as a sentence.

• Applies retroactively to defendants sentenced to death before the act's effective date; those in post-conviction proceedings may include the mental illness allegation in their petition, and those who completed post-conviction proceedings may request permission to file a successive petition by July 1, 2018.