Missouri Laws 632.495 – Unanimous verdict required — offender committed to custody of department of ..
1. The court or jury shall determine whether, by clear and convincing evidence, the person is a sexually violent predator. If such determination that the person is a sexually violent predator is made by a jury, such determination shall be by unanimous verdict of such jury. Any determination as to whether a person is a sexually violent predator may be appealed.
2. If the court or jury determines that the person is a sexually violent predator, the person shall be committed to the custody of the director of the department of mental health for control, care and treatment until such time as the person’s mental abnormality has so changed that the person is safe to be at large. Such control, care and treatment shall be provided by the department of mental health.
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 632.495
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of the statutes, mean the section next preceding or next following that in which the reference is made, unless some other section is expressly designated in the reference. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Mistrial: An invalid trial, caused by fundamental error. When a mistrial is declared, the trial must start again from the selection of the jury.
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
- Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
3. At all times, persons ordered to the department of mental health after a determination by the court that such persons may meet the definition of a sexually violent predator, persons ordered to the department of mental health after a finding of probable cause under section 632.489, and persons committed for control, care and treatment by the department of mental health pursuant to sections 632.480 to 632.513 shall be kept in a secure facility designated by the director of the department of mental health and such persons shall be segregated at all times from any other patient under the supervision of the director of the department of mental health. The department of mental health shall not place or house a person ordered to the department of mental health after a determination by the court that such person may meet the definition of a sexually violent predator, a person ordered to the department of mental health after a finding of probable cause under section 632.489, or a person committed for control, care, and treatment by the department of mental health, pursuant to sections 632.480 to 632.513, with other mental health patients. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to a person who has been conditionally released under section 632.505.
4. The department of mental health is authorized to enter into an interagency agreement with the department of corrections for the confinement of such persons. Such persons who are in the confinement of the department of corrections pursuant to an interagency agreement shall be housed and managed separately from offenders in the custody of the department of corrections, and except for occasional instances of supervised incidental contact, shall be segregated from such offenders.
5. The department of mental health is authorized to enter into a contract agreement with one or more county jails in Missouri for the confinement of persons ordered to the department of mental health after a determination by the court that such persons may meet the definition of a sexually violent predator or for the confinement of persons ordered to the department of mental health after a finding of probable cause under section 632.489. Such persons who are in the confinement of a county jail pursuant to a contract agreement shall be housed and managed separately from offenders in the custody of the county jail, and except for occasional instances of supervised incidental contact, shall be segregated from such offenders.
6. If the court or jury is not satisfied by clear and convincing evidence that the person is a sexually violent predator, the court shall direct the person’s release.
7. Upon a mistrial, the court shall direct that the person be held at an appropriate secure facility, including, but not limited to, a county jail, until another trial is conducted. If the person is ordered to the department of mental health, the director of the department of mental health shall determine the appropriate secure facility to house the person. Any subsequent trial following a mistrial shall be held within ninety days of the previous trial, unless such subsequent trial is continued as provided in section 632.492.