Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 69.djvu/653

 69 S T A T. ]

PUBLIC LAW 313-AUG. 9, 1955

611

bia shall, after due notice, hold a hearing at which evidence as to the mental condition of the person so confined may be submitted, including the testimony of one or more psychiatrists from said hospital. The court shall weigh the evidence and, if the court finds that such person has recovered his sanity and will not in the reasonable future be dangerous to himself or others, the court shall order such person unconditionally released from further confinement in said hospital. If the court does not so find, the court shall order such person returned to said hospital. Where, in the judgment of the superintendent of such hospital, a person confined under subsection (d) above is not in such condition as to warrant his unconditional release, but is in a condition to be conditionally released under supervision, and such certificate is filed and served as above provided, such certificate shall be sufficient to authorize the court to order the release of such person under such conditions as the court shall see fit at the expiration of fifteen days from the time such certificate is filed and served pursuant to this section: Provided, That the provisions as to hearing prior to unconditional release shall also apply to conditional releases, and, if, after a hearing and weighing the evidence, the court shall find that the condition of such person warrants his conditional release, the court shall order his release under such conditions as the court shall see fit, or, if the court does not so find, the court shall order such person returned to such hospital. "(f) When an accused person shall be acquitted solely on the ground of insanity and ordered confined in a hospital for the mentally ill, such person and his estate shall be charged with the expense of his support in such hospital. " (g) Nothing herein contained shall preclude a person confined under the authority of this section from establishing his eligibility for release under the provisions of this section by a writ of habeas corpus. " (h) The provisions of this section shall supersede in the District of Columbia the provisions of any Federal statutes or parts thereof inconsistent with this section." SEC. 2. Section 928 of such Act approved March 3, 1901, as amended, 3^| 1:r*code°*24is amended to read as follows: 302! "SEC. 928. Any person while serving sentence of any court of the District of Columbia for crime, in a District of Columbia penal institution, and who, in the opinion of the Director of the Department of Corrections of the District of Columbia, is mentally ill, shall be referred by such Director to the psychiatrist functioning under section 405 of title IV of the Act approved June 29, 1953 (67 Stat. 105; sec. 24-106, Supp. I l l, D, C. Code, 1951 edition), and if such psychiatrist certifies that the person is mentally ill, this shall be sufficient to authorize the Director to transfer such person to a hospital for the mentally ill to receive care and treatment during the continuance of his mental illness,". SEC. 3. Section 929 of such Act approved March 3, 1901, as amended, ^* ^^^^%^l^\^ 1 1,

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js amended to read as lollows: 303. "SEC. 929. (a) When any person confined in a hospital for the mentally ill, charged with crime and subject to be tried therefor, shall be found competent to stand trial in the opinion of the superintendent of such hospital, the superintendent shall certify such fact to the clerk of the court in which the indictment, information, or charge is pending, in accordance with the procedure specified in section 927 of this Act, and deliver such person to the court according to its proper precept. "(b) When any person confined in a hospital for the mentally ill while serving sentence shall be restored to mental health within

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