Bill Would Allow Wisconsin Judges To Weigh PTSD When Sentencing Veterans

The state Legislature is considering a bill that would encourage judges to consider the treatment needs of veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder when making sentencing decisions.

Three other states have already put similar laws on the books. Testifying this week in favor of passing one in Wisconsin, Dane County Judge David Flanagan said the bill does not require judges to hand down more lenient sentences. He said judges are already required to consider an offender’s psychological health when deciding on a sentence.

“But this is telling everybody in the state that I should be doing this with regard to PTSD because there are people out there that don’t believe it exists,” Flanagan said.

It’s estimated that 20 percent of recent combat veterans suffer from the condition. A much smaller percentage of veterans end up in trouble with the law.

Judge Flanagan said the bill isn’t likely change the length of a prison sentence but it may lead to the inclusion of treatment as a part of a sentence structure, particularly in a case where a vet is being sentenced to probation disposition. He said in that case, a judge can consider mandating treatment as a condition of supervision.

Alaska, California and Kansas are the three other states that have already passed law like this.