(1) When a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity is accepted, the court shall forthwith commit the defendant for a sanity examination, specifying the place and period of commitment. (2) Upon receiving the report of the sanity examination, the court shall immediately set the case for trial to a jury on the issue raised by the plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. In all cases except class 1, class 2, and class 3 felonies, the defendant may waive jury trial by an express written instrument or announcement in open court appearing of record. If the court and the district attorney consent, jury trial may be waived in a class 1, class 2, or class 3 felony case. Every person is presumed to be sane; but, once any evidence of insanity is introduced, the people have the burden of proving sanity beyond a reasonable doubt. (3) If the trier of fact finds the defendant was sane at the time of commission of the offense, the court, unless it has reason to believe that the defendant is incompetent to proceed or the question is otherwise raised as provided in section 16-8.5-102, shall immediately set the case for trial on the issues raised by the plea of not guilty. If the question of whether the defendant is incompetent to proceed is raised, the court shall follow the procedure set forth in section 16-8.5- 103. (4) If the trier of fact finds the defendant not guilty by reason of insanity, the court shall commit the defendant to the custody of the department of human services until such time as he is found eligible for release. The executive director of the department of human services shall designate the state facility at which the defendant shall be held for care and psychiatric treatment and may transfer the defendant from one institution to another if in the opinion of the director it is desirable to do so in the interest of the proper care, custody, and treatment of the defendant or the protection of the public or the personnel of the facilities in question. (5) This section shall apply to offenses committed before July 1, 1995.
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