'For the families, you can only imagine the impact'
EUGENE, Ore. - When the Oregon Legislature convenes next month, Senate Bills 421 and 426 will be on the agenda.
The legislation is brought forth by state Sen. Floyd Prozanski along with the family of Officer Chris Kilcullen, a Eugene police officer fatally shot during a routine traffic stop in 2011.
Investigators said Springfield resident Cheryl Kidd shot and killed Kilcullen. Kidd has been in a state mental hospital since then, deemed unfit to stand trial.
Oregon law says those mentally unfit to stand trial can be held in a state hospital for up to three years. After that begins what is known as a "civil commitment" process, a court hearing every 6 months to determine if the suspect should stay in the hospital.
"For the families, you can only imagine the impact it has on them," Prozanski said, "when you've lost a loved one knowing every 6 months you have to gear up and attend these hearings, knowing that the individual - more than likely - is not going to be deemed fit to stand trial.
The legislation would extend the "civil commitment" process to every two or five years.
"I've seen the process in the past, and it's not a pleasant process," said John Kilcullen, Chris Kilcullen's father, "and it brings up a lot of stuff for his parents and for his wife and it's also for his kids."
Prozanski and Kilcullen are confident the changes will pass in the legislature.
"I'm excited to see something happen," Kilcullen said. "I'm excited to see it pass and to not have to look forward to this ordeal every six months."
The mental health evaluation process is totally out of control. It is designed to protect the very people that should be on trial. Mental Health doctors are the ones who prescribe mind-altering drugs, which have been proven to cause thoughts of violence. The majority of school shooting suspects, most of the children who kill their parents and the majority of suicides are caused by people under the influence of depression medication, yet due to the political influence of the pharmaceutical companies, the issue is ignored and politicians blame the weapon of choice. That doesn't stop the violence. Until America outlaws these drugs, as other countries have done, the people under the influence should be monitored daily. All weapons should be keep out of reach and the prescribing doctor should be required to file a weekly report on the mental attitude of the patient. There has never been one study which shows that SSRI drugs have cured any illness, but many doctors have risk their credentials and their livelihoods going against the establishment and writing books on this issue, like Drugging America, Medication and Suicide. Psychiatric Drug Facts, Drugging our Children, Medication Madness and A Trojan Horse. Still, all our leaders talk about is banning guns. They place no mentoring system, or control of these patients, nor do they dare demand accountability on the drug companies who are making billions off the sales.
 @plainservant thank you for articulating what should be on the surface instead of being buried.
Good for everyone all the way around.
Imagine if Oregon had a gun law that required mentally ill patients to be reported as a danger to society, filed in a shared database for background checks...this may not have happen at all.
Not sure where she got the gun though.
It was a tragic, senseless killing of a person who many say was a decent man. But give his story and image a break for Pete's sake. There are plenty of other decent people who die tragically who don't get hauled out as a poster child every two months for whatever pet cause is popular at the time.Â
 @OregonOrator yes and no. By bringing it up maybe the real issues like plainservant spoke get addressed and Kincully death can be turned into a positive. Sure we all know unsung heroes, that is life.
@drinkmorewater No, you are in error. It's all "yes".
@drinkmorewater  If  I lightened up any more with that post, it'd put people to sleep. Stop being such a weenie.
 @OregonOrator  @drinkmorewater  @OregonOrator OO you put words in my mouth. You can lighten up some.Â
@drinkmorewater @OregonOrator You usually are. But it's still all "yes". Unlike you I don't view cops as heroes. Volunteer firefighters - yes, cops for hire - no. But that doesn't make him any less of a decent person of course. Or any more of a hero than the next decent person to die tragically.
 @OregonOrator  @drinkmorewater i was vague, but I was referring to the 2nd part of your statement.Â