By VDC staff

Vermont needs a secure facility to hold people deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial for violent crime.

That was one of the “asks” to lawmakers by crime victims, survivors, and advocates from across Vermont who gathered at the State House on Tuesday for the first Voices for Vermont Victims Public Hearing, urging lawmakers to enact reforms to better protect victims’ rights in cases involving mental health and forensic competency issues.

The hearing was co-hosted by Lt. Gov. John Rodgers and Voices for Vermont Victims founder Kelly Carroll, and featured emotional testimony from survivors whose loved ones were murdered. 

Speakers described years-long legal limbo caused by Vermont’s lack of a formal competency restoration process, the absence of a secure forensic psychiatric facility, and limited avenues for victim participation in mental health-related court proceedings.

“We’re not asking for special treatment — we’re asking to be heard,” Carroll said. “Victims deserve the right to be notified, to be present, and to speak — even in forensic proceedings where accountability is already difficult to reach.”

Carroll’s daughter, Emily, was murdered in 2021. She and other speakers said the current system often sidelines victims, leaving families retraumatized by repeated delays, missed evaluations, and prolonged uncertainty when defendants are found incompetent to stand trial or enter not guilty by reason of insanity pleas.

Survivors Joanne Kortendick, Alex Margolies, and Leigh Anne Billings shared similar experiences, describing how the lack of clear timelines and facilities has stalled cases for years while victims are excluded from key proceedings.

Lawmakers and agency officials attended the hearing, including members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate Health and Welfare Committee, and representatives from the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs.

Advocates outlined several priorities for legislative action, including:

– Establishing a competency restoration process in Vermont

– Creating a secure forensic psychiatric facility, potentially through renovation of a unit at Southern State Correctional Facility

– Guaranteeing victims the right to submit formal, recorded impact statements in mental health-related court proceedings

The hearing followed the start of House Judiciary Committee testimony on H.627, a bill aimed at strengthening victim rights in forensic cases. A related proposal addressing forensic facilities is also under consideration in the Senate as S.193.

“For too long, victims in these cases have been treated as irrelevant or emotional distractions,” Carroll said. “But we bring more than emotion — we bring the lived consequences of laws that fail to protect us.”

A recording of the public hearing is available on the Vermont Lieutenant Governor’s YouTube channel.

Founded in 2025, Voices for Vermont Victims is a grassroots advocacy group focused on ensuring crime victims and survivors have a voice in policymaking and legislative reform.