Mentally ill prisoners.

Existing law requires, as a condition of parole, a prisoner who has a severe mental disorder that is not in remission and who meets specified criteria to be treated by the State Department of State Hospitals and provided the necessary treatment. In order for that commitment to occur, existing law requires, among other criteria, that the severe mental disorder be one of the causes of, or an aggravating factor in, the commission of the crime, as defined, for which the prisoner was sentenced to prison. Existing law also requires the prisoner to have been in treatment for the severe mental disorder for 90 days or more within the year prior to the prisoner's parole or release. Existing law establishes procedures for the evaluation of a prisoner under these provisions by specified health practitioners of the State Department of State Hospitals and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. This bill would authorize the use of certain documentary evidence for purposes of satisfying the criteria used to evaluate whether a prisoner released on parole is required to be treated by the State Department of State Hospitals.