THE INSANITY PLEA

Saying he wants to "strike a commonsense balance" between the treatment of the state's criminally insane and the public's safety, Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon is seeking to toughen laws that deal with criminal defendants ruled innocent by reason of insanity.

Reps. Brian May and James O'Toole, both St. Louis Democrats, this week introduced Nixon's legislative package, which the attorney general says would ensure the criminally insane are held in facilities more like prisons than hospitals.

It is time the state gave as much attention to victims of crimes as it does to protecting the rights of criminals. The Missouri Organization of Victims Assistance reports that 45 percent of the 500 patients found innocent by reason of insanity committed violent crimes. It hardly seems right that a killer found innocent by reason of insanity ought to be able to let himself in and out of a halfway house.

Nixon's proposal would change that. One of the most important provisions of the bill would give oversight responsibilities to the court where the case was handled instead of the court where the mental health facility happens to be. The court that grants the release also would have the authority to revoke it. Now, only mental health officials have that discretion.

The proposal also would require patients seeking releases to meet the highest possible burden of proof. That means patients who have committed violent crimes and are seeking permanent release would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt they no longer are a threat to others.

It is time to give out attention to the violence inflicted upon victims of the criminally insane instead of on the lawbreakers' mental health. Nixon's proposal seems to be a good blueprint for making sure the state treats violent criminals -- whether sane or not -- as a public safety risk.