BENNINGTON — Prosecutors and attorneys representing a man accused of fatally slashing a Bennington woman last year have agreed he should be sent to a treatment facility because he is not mentally competent to stand trial, they revealed this week.
These major developments came after two psychologists separately evaluated Darren Pronto, 34, a Pownal man facing a first-degree murder charge in the killing of Emily Hamman, 26.
The defendant “currently suffers from a major mental illness,” according to a draft court order prepared by both state prosecutors and defense attorneys, which was filed in court Monday.
“As we understand our due process rights, it would be not right to prosecute someone if they don’t know what’s going on,” public defender Fred Bragdon said at a hearing Wednesday in Bennington Superior criminal court.
The draft order, which has not yet been affirmed by a judge, would have Pronto transferred to a secure hospital or the Middlesex Therapeutic Community Residence, where he would be under the custody of the Vermont Department of Mental Health. Since January 2021, he has been held without the option to post bail at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield.
If he is discharged from treatment, Pronto would be returned to the custody of the state Department of Corrections and “presumed to be competent,” the document states.
The Bennington County State’s Attorney’s Office said Pronto’s criminal case would remain active while the process unfolds. First-degree murder is punishable by up to life in prison.
In October 2021, a court-ordered mental health evaluation found Pronto not competent to stand trial.
This January, the court granted the state’s request for a second evaluation after prosecutors said the first one included “errors, omissions and deviations from best practices.” The results of the examination remained unknown — until a hearing Tuesday in which attorneys discussed the agreement they reached.
Hamman’s mother, Kelly Carroll, said the outcome was “not the justice for Emily that we had hoped for.”
“Pronto killed her and he should be held accountable for that,” Caroll told VTDigger. “Nothing will bring Emily back, but hopefully this stops Pronto from killing or seriously injuring someone else.”
Hamann was walking along the Riverwalk in downtown Bennington just before noon on Jan. 18, 2021, when police said Pronto jumped her and cut her throat after lying in wait.
The parties will hold another hearing in which the presiding judge, Kerry McDonald-Cady, is expected to rule on the order.