'Ed Thomas bill' signed into law

DES MOINES – Surrounded by members of Ed Thomas' family and mementos of the late Aplington-Parkersburg football coach, Gov. Chet Culver signed into law a bill legislators say could avert a future tragedies.

The so-called Ed Thomas bill clarifies the responsibilities of hospitals and law enforcement when dealing with psychiatric patients facing criminal charges in order to prevent similar tragedies.

Senate File 2352 was approved by the Legislature after Mark Becker was released from a Waterloo hospital despite pending charges. On June 24, 2009, prosecutors said, Becker drove to Parkersburg and shot his Thomas, former football coach.

Becker was found guilty of first degree murder by a Butler County jury that rejected his insanity defense.

Thomas' son, Aaron, thanked lawmakers who listened to the family's concerns and tweaked the bill “to get language the family was comfortable with … that made sense to the people who do this, who had issues.”

Culver called it a “bittersweet day,” but a “great day for Iowa.”

The law “is the least we can do” to prevent another “horrific tragedy,” he said. “I don't want any other family to go through this.”

As a former teacher and coach, Culver said, the bill was personal for him. He had watched Thomas coach in 2008 after a tornado had damaged much of the Aplington-Parkersburg community in May.

The law will “keep his name, his memory in our thoughts and prayers,” Culver said.

The bill signing was at the Hy-Vee Hall of Pride where a video of Aplington-Parkersburg football games played on a giant television. Other mementos included a reproduction of a Sports Illustrated cover featuring Thomas after he was shot. An Aplington-Parkersburg football helmet sat on the table where Culver signed the law.

The law, legislators said, addressed gaps in the way hospitals and law enforcement now handle the release of patients facing criminal charges. It creates an administrative process for law enforcement to be notified before a psychiatric patient is released. It also clarifies that a law enforcement officer must retrieve an individual within six hours of being notified of the patient's release, but a hospital cannot hold the patient beyond the time specified by law for detention -- currently 48 hours.

It also creates a civil penalty of $1,000 for a first offense and $2,000 for each subsequent offense of not notifying a law enforcement officer when required. It also provides civil and criminal liability protections for anyone complying with the bill.