Rucker, J.
As a general proposition a jury may not be instructed on specific penal ramifications of its verdicts. See Schweitzer v. State, 552 N.E.2d 454, 457 (Ind. 1990). However, acknowledging the “potential for confusion in cases where the jury is faced with the option of finding a defendant not responsible by reason of insanity or guilty but mentally ill” this Court determined that when such options are before a jury “and the defendant requests a jury instruction on the penal consequences of these verdicts, the trial court is required to give an appropriate instruction or instructions as the case may be.” Georgopulos, 735 N.E.2d at 1143 (emphasis added) (footnote omitted). The Court then declared “[a]lthough not binding, the trial court may consider the following as appropriate instructions:” Id. at n.3.
Whenever a defendant is found guilty but mentally ill at the time of the crime, the court shall sentence the defendant in the same manner as a defendant found guilty of the offense. At the Department of Correction, the defendant found guilty but mentally ill shall be further evaluated and treated as is psychiatrically indicated for his illness.
(citing I.C. § 35-36-2-5)
Whenever a defendant is found not responsible by reason of insanity at the time of the crime, the prosecuting attorney shall file a written petition for mental health commitment with the court. The court shall hold a mental health commitment hearing at the earliest opportunity after the finding of not responsible by reason of insanity at the time of the crime, and the defendant shall be detained in custody until the completion of the hearing. If, upon the completion of the hearing, the court finds that the defendant is mentally ill and either dangerous or gravely disabled, then the court may order the defendant to be committed to an appropriate facility, or enter an outpatient treatment program of not more than ninety (90) days.
(citing I.C. §§ 35-36-2-4; 12-26-6-8).
. . . .
. . . [W]e accept Passwater’s invitation to reconsider the Georgopulos instruction. Several statutes control the disposition of a defendant found guilty but mentally ill or not responsible by reason of insanity. With respect to the former, the relevant statute provides in pertinent part:
whenever a defendant is found guilty but mentally ill at the time of the crime or enters a plea to that effect that is accepted by the court, the court shall sentence the defendant in the same manner as a defendant found guilty of the offense. . . . If a defendant who is found guilty but mentally ill at the time of the crime is committed to the department of correction, the defendant shall be further evaluated and then treated in such a manner as is psychiatrically indicated for the defendant’s mental illness.
I.C. § 35-36-2-5 (a), (c). The first portion of the Georgopulos instruction essentially tracks the language of the statute. As for the latter, a number of statutory provisions come into play. In summary the statutes provide: (1) there will be a mental health commitment hearing after the finding of not responsible by reason of insanity and the defendant will remain in custody throughout the duration of the hearing, see I.C. §§ 12-26-6-4; 12-26-7-4; 35-36-2-4; (2) if the defendant is found to be mentally ill at the conclusion of the hearing the court may either require the defendant to enter an outpatient treatment program or order the defendant to a regular commitment at an appropriate mental health facility—depending on the severity of defendant’s mental illness, see I.C. §§ 12-26-6-1; 12-26-6-8; 12-26-14-1; 12-26-14-7; (3) a defendant who is ordered to enter an outpatient treatment program on a temporary 90-day basis must be assessed by the attending physician or superintendent of the treatment program during the 90 days, see I.C. § 12-26-6-11; (4) if a person originally ordered to serve a temporary outpatient commitment period continues to suffer from mental illness, the court must conduct another commitment hearing before the 90 days expires to determine whether a second temporary commitment period in outpatient therapy or regular commitment to a mental health facility is appropriate, see I.C. §§ 12-26-6-8; 12-26-6-10; 12-26-7-4; and (5) an individual ordered to a regular commitment will not be released until the attending physician or superintendent determines that they are no longer mentally ill and either dangerous or gravely disabled or so ordered by the court. See I.C. §§ 12-26-6-9; 12-26-7-5; 12-26-12-7.
Obviously not all of the foregoing provisions are appropriate for a jury instruction.Consequently the second part of the Georgopulos instruction endeavored to synthesize those portions of the statute relevant for a jury’s consideration in order to avoid confusion in cases where the jury is faced with the option of finding a defendant not responsible by reason of insanity or guilty but mentally ill. However, that does not mean to say that the instruction is flawless. Although not used by the trial court in this case, at least one attempt to suggest an improved instruction is found in Indiana Pattern Jury Instruction 11.20. [Footnote omitted.] Titled “Consequences of Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity or Guilty But Mentally Ill Verdicts” the instruction provides:
If the Defendant is found guilty but mentally ill at the time of the crime, the court will sentence the Defendant in the same manner as a Defendant found guilty of the offense. The Defendant will then be further evaluated and treated as is psychiatrically indicated for his illness.
If the Defendant is found not responsible by reason of insanity at the time of the crime, the prosecuting attorney will file a petition for mental health commitment with the court. The court will hold a mental health commitment hearing at the earliest opportunity. The Defendant will be detained in custody until the completion of the hearing. If the court finds that the Defendant is mentally ill and either dangerous or gravely disabled, then the court may order the Defendant to be either placed in an outpatient treatment program of not more than ninety (90) days, or committed to an appropriate mental health facility until a court determines commitment is no longer needed.
Indiana Pattern Jury Instructions – Criminal 11.20 (2013). We are of the view that the Pattern Instruction represents an improvement over the instruction this Court found appropriate in Georgopulos and thus endorse and approve its use.
Dickson, C.J., and David, Massa and Rush, JJ., concur.