Gov. Mike Johanns believes some patients are being held illegally at the Norfolk Regional Center.

He told the Norfolk Daily News that a look at lengths of stay in Norfolk were surprising.

He says he is concerned over the 200-day average length of stay at the center.

Regional center officials say patients waiting to be placed into community-based services and the small number of patients who live at the center for years skew the number.

Johanns says under a Supreme Court ruling, when a patient is no longer dangerous to themselves or to others, they cannot be deprived of their liberties.

Jom Egley, who chairs the Mental Health Board for the 7th Judicial District, says the suggestion that patients at the regional center are being held there illegally is "preposterous."