Sentencing for criminally insane could change

Legislation inspired, at least in part, by criminally insane killer Philip Arnold Paul’s escape from a mental hospital field trip to the Spokane County Fair last fall, is getting a gubernatorial push in Olympia.

Gov. Chris Gregoire is calling for an overhaul of the way mentally ill offenders are sentenced.

Also helping give the proposal a big push is the recent slaying of four Lakewood police officers by a mentally ill offender released against the advice of authorities from an Arkansas facility.

The latest from The Associated Press on the governor’s plan can be found in the extended post: