Bill factors veterans' PTSD into sentencing

State lawmakers last week showed bipartisan support for a bill that would allow judges to consider post-traumatic stress disorder when sentencing combat veterans.

House Bill 1104, approved by a House judiciary committee Wednesday, would allow a judge to use PTSD as a mitigating factor when sentencing a veteran professionally diagnosed with the illness and currently in treatment.

"We've asked our men and women in uniform to go through tough things, and sometimes as a result of their experiences, they suffer from post-traumatic stress. Unfortunately, that can make them engage in criminal behavior," Rep. Grier Martin, a Wake County Democrat and Afghan War veteran.