In a nearly 4,100-word piece, The Atlantic (12/9, Tullis) reports how in jails across the US, “people who should be placed in mental-health facilities for treatment are instead detained…for unconstitutionally long periods – sometimes months – before they have been convicted or even tried for any crime.” For example, “in Texas in 2018, the average period that people with mental illness not convicted of any crime were held in jail was 229 days, according to reporting by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.” In many cases, “their condition deteriorates further as they are held in facilities unable to care for them.”
Related Links:
— “When Mental Illness Becomes a Jail Sentence, “Paul Tullis, The Atlantic, December 9, 2019