NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Tennessee lawmakers are already calling for action when they go back to work in January so that what happened to Jillian Ludwig doesn’t happen to anyone else. They say her death could have been prevented.
Lawmakers in the house say a bill they passed during the summer special session cracked down on cases similar to the one involving Shaquille Taylor, but it never became law.
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Jillian Ludwig’s death has led to outrage from the Nashville’s District Attorney’s Office and state lawmakers.
Under current Tennessee law, doctors can only commit someone to a mental health facility if they pose an immediate threat of serious harm due to an emotional disturbance or mental illness.
Lawmakers presented a bill during the special session to change the word immediate to imminent.
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Something one of the bill’s sponsors, Representative Sabi Kumar, said would have made a world of difference.
“Immediate threat means occurring at that instant and imminent means is something that is about to happen,” said Representative Kumar.
This bill passed in the house, but the senate never took it up.
In a podcast, House Speaker Cameron Sexton said Ludwig’s death could have been prevented if the bill had passed.
House Representative John Ray Clemmons says elected leaders need to go beyond the mental health issue.
“What no one wants to talk about is how this gentleman got access to the gun,” said Representative Clemmons. “That seems to be the problem here. We have mental health affecting a lot of people across the state of Tennessee. They’re not committing acts of gun violence.”
We reached out to Lt. Governor Randy McNally who sent us a statement saying no action proposed by the house of the general assembly in the special session would have prevented the death of Jillian Ludwig.
Adding this tragic case should never happen again and dangerous people who are incompetent should get the help they need away from the general public.
Rep. Clemmons agrees with the Lt. Governor on this point.
“We need to be doing whatever we can to address this problem because gun violence threatens every community,” said Rep. Clemmons.
Rep. Clemmons says the state also needs to do a better job providing access to mental healthcare. He adds they’re also introducing multiple bills in the upcoming session on gun safety.
Lt. Governor McNally adds he looks forward to working with the legislature in the upcoming session.
Read the full statement from Lt. Governor Randy McNally below:
“No action proposed by either house of the General Assembly in the special session would have prevented the death of Jillian Ludwig. That said, this is an extremely tragic case that should never be repeated in the state of Tennessee. Dangerous people who are incompetent to stand trial need to get the help they need — away from our general population. I look forward to working with Speaker Sexton and members of the state house and state senate on this issue. We must work together to ensure that, whether in prison or in a mental health facility, dangerous individuals are separated from civil society. The safety of our law abiding citizens must remain paramount.”
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