I was struck by this: "Roughly one in five adults in the general population has a mental illness. In jails and prisons the figure is closer to two in five, and the rate of serious conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder climbs even higher." What a broken mess.
Thank you for the comment! This is something that I'm very much concerned about. Too often, judges tell me they're going to reject my client for one reason or another. None of those reasons ever make sense to me. "He's a danger to the community." Okay, judge, we know that. That's why we want him to get treatment. If you send him to prison for 3 years without treatment tailored to his needs, he's still going to be a danger to the community. Or, "I don't think she'll make it through the program." Well, okay...that's why we have _review_ hearings! And if she fails to meet the program standards, you get to return her to the criminal court to be warehoused later!
I was struck by this: "Roughly one in five adults in the general population has a mental illness. In jails and prisons the figure is closer to two in five, and the rate of serious conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder climbs even higher." What a broken mess.
Yep. An absolutely broken mess that only seems to get worse with each passing day.
Incredible. Thank you so much for writing this. Looking forward to the next installment. <3
Thank you for the comment! This is something that I'm very much concerned about. Too often, judges tell me they're going to reject my client for one reason or another. None of those reasons ever make sense to me. "He's a danger to the community." Okay, judge, we know that. That's why we want him to get treatment. If you send him to prison for 3 years without treatment tailored to his needs, he's still going to be a danger to the community. Or, "I don't think she'll make it through the program." Well, okay...that's why we have _review_ hearings! And if she fails to meet the program standards, you get to return her to the criminal court to be warehoused later!