Mo. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 552
Missouri Revised Statutes

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 552.050 (2026)

Mental illness during service of sentence, proceedings relating thereto

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  552.050.  Mental illness during service of sentence, proceedings relating thereto. — 1.  If the chief administrative officer of any correctional facility has reasonable cause to believe that any offender needs care in a mental hospital, he or she shall so certify to the division of classification and treatment, which shall then transfer the offender to a state mental hospital for custody, care and treatment.  The hospital may detain and treat the offender for a period of time not to exceed ninety-six hours.  At the expiration of the ninety-six hours, the offender shall be returned to a correctional facility designated by the department of corrections unless the individual admits himself or herself as a voluntary patient or the head of the facility files for involuntary detention and treatment pursuant to chapter 632.  The petition filed pursuant to section 632.330 shall be filed in the court having probate jurisdiction over the mental health facility in which the offender is being detained.  The offender shall have the rights afforded respondents in sections 632.330 and 632.335, except that at the conclusion of the hearing on the petition the court may order the offender detained for a period of time not to exceed ninety days.  At the expiration of the ninety-day commitment period ordered by the court, the offender may be detained and treated involuntarily for up to an additional one year under sections 632.355 and 632.360.

  2.  When an offender needs care in a mental hospital and is committed or transferred to a state mental hospital, the time spent at the mental hospital shall be calculated as a part of the sentence imposed upon him or her whether the sentence is an indeterminate one or for a definite period of time.  The time spent at the mental hospital shall be deducted from the term of the sentence.

  3.  When an offender who has been transferred from a correctional facility to a state mental hospital recovers before the expiration of his or her sentence, the superintendent of the hospital shall so certify in writing to the division of classification and treatment.  He or she shall thereupon be transferred to such correctional facility as the department may direct.

  4.  An offender who has been committed to or transferred to a state mental hospital and is still mentally ill at the expiration of his or her sentence may be discharged and delivered to any person who is able and willing to maintain him or her comfortably and to the satisfaction of the superintendent of the hospital, if, in the opinion of the superintendent, it is reasonably safe for the person to be at large.  Before discharging the offender the superintendent shall receive verification of the expiration of the offender's sentence from the director of corrections.  The person so discharged may, in the discretion of the superintendent, be provided with the whole or a portion of the allowances granted to discharged prisoners by section 217.285.  The cost of such allowance shall be paid from the same funds as are allowances granted to persons discharged directly from a correctional facility.

  5.  When the term of an offender who has been committed or transferred to a state mental hospital has expired and the person, in the opinion of the hospital superintendent, is still in need of care in a mental hospital and for the welfare and safety of himself or herself or others should remain in the hospital for custody, care and treatment, he or she shall be retained in the hospital only if proper involuntary detention proceedings have been instituted and held as provided in chapter 632.  Thereafter this chapter and no other shall be applicable to his or her continued hospitalization and discharge.

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(L. 1963 p. 674 § 5, A.L. 1971 S.B. 171, A.L. 1980 H.B. 1724, A.L. 1983 H.B. 713 Revision, A.L. 1990 H.B. 974, A.L. 2023 S.B. 106)

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases, 1974–2007 · leading case: State v. Goree, 762 S.W.2d 20 (Mo. 1988).
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State v. Goree, 762 S.W.2d 20 (Mo. 1988). · cites it 10× “I would respectfully urge the person in charge of the correctional institution to probe the facts involved and the personality of the defendant and utilize the provisions of § 552.050, RSMo 1986. As much as I wish the statutes suggested by Judge Simeone could take care of the…”
State v. Miller, 220 S.W.3d 862 (Mo. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 2× “040; (4) To determine if a person in the custody of any correctional institution needs care in a mental hospital as provided in section 552.050; (5) To determine whether a person condemned to death shall be executed as provided in sections 552.”
Eckerhart v. Hensley, 475 F. Supp. 908 (W.D. Mo. 1979). · cites it 2× “§ 552.050, RSMo. 8 . § 552.020, RSMo. 9 .”
State v. Boyd, 143 S.W.3d 36 (Mo. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 2× “040; (4) To determine if a person in the custody of any correctional institution needs care in a mental hospital as provided in section 552.050; (5) To determine whether a person condemned to death shall be executed as provided in sections 552.”
Robb v. Est. of Brown, 518 S.W.2d 729 (Mo. Ct. App. 1974). “So also, § 552.050 covers the situation where a prisoner becomes mentally incapacitated after commencing his sentence; and in this situation the sentencing court is specifically granted the authority under § 552.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.