Ritter family backs Ohio bill extending competency restoration deadlines in aggravated murder and life-sentence cases

Legislation targets Ohio’s one-year restoration cap in the Officer Jamieson Ritter case

The parents of Cleveland Police Officer Jamieson Ritter, who was killed in the line of duty in 2024, are pressing state lawmakers to change Ohio’s rules for how long courts may attempt to restore a criminal defendant’s competency to stand trial. Their push centers on Senate Bill 295, a proposal that would extend the maximum restoration period in the most serious cases and add new reporting requirements for treatment facilities.

Ritter, 27, was fatally shot on July 4, 2024, on East 80th Street while officers attempted to arrest a suspect. Delawnte Hardy, 26, has been charged in Ritter’s death and is also accused in the shooting of his grandmother, Beatrice Porter, in Garfield Heights days earlier. A Cuyahoga County judge ordered Hardy to Central Ohio Behavioral Healthcare for competency restoration in 2024 after he was found incompetent to stand trial.

What Ohio law currently requires

Under current Ohio law, when a defendant is found incompetent but likely to be restored, a court may order treatment aimed at regaining competency, generally within a one-year period. The statutory structure sets time limits intended to balance a defendant’s due-process rights with the state’s interest in prosecution.

In Hardy’s case, court proceedings have repeatedly focused on how the restoration “clock” should be counted when a patient refuses medication and on what information should be promptly provided to the court. A judge set Feb. 20, 2026, as the expiration date for Hardy’s competency restoration period under existing deadlines, placing the case at a critical procedural point.

What Senate Bill 295 would change

Senate Bill 295 would revise competency restoration rules in two main ways for certain serious charges:

• Extend the maximum restoration period from one year to five years in cases of aggravated murder, murder, or where the potential sentence is life in prison.
• Allow courts to pause (toll) the restoration timeframe when a defendant does not comply with the treatment plan, including medication refusal.

The proposal would also require mental health hospitals to notify the court within 14 days if a defendant is not taking prescribed medication, establishing a standardized reporting timeline meant to prevent long delays in informing judges and attorneys.

Why the Ritter family is involved

Ritter’s parents have joined Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley in advocating for the bill during testimony before the Ohio House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. Supporters argue the current structure can create procedural pressure in complex cases where restoration is uncertain or delayed, particularly when noncompliance becomes a central issue.

The bill’s provisions are tailored to cases carrying the most severe penalties and would not apply uniformly across all criminal charges.

If enacted, the measure would reshape how long the state may seek to bring certain defendants to trial after an incompetency finding, while adding clearer obligations for facilities tasked with restoring competency.