COLUMBUS, Ohio — The governor of Ohio signed a bill on Friday that advocates say closes a legal loophole that could have set free the man accused of killing Officer Jamieson Ritter, a Webster native.
Ritter, 27, was shot and killed in July 2024 while serving the Cleveland Police Department. As News10NBC has covered, the suspect, De’Lawnte Hardy, was declared incompetent to stand trial. In most cases, suspects can be brought back to competency with proper medications. However, under the previous Ohio law, suspects couldn’t be held for more than one year for competency restoration, and Hardy’s deadline was in February.
Under the new law, suspects can be held for up to three years if they’re deemed incompetent to stand trial for serious crimes, including murder. It also requires state hospitals to notify courts within 14 days if a suspect refuses medication…