Florida spends at least $50 million a year restoring competency for defendants, mostly on minor charges, investigation finds
Using state courts administrator data, the Times and Herald-Tribune counted 30,000 incompetency findings from 2004 to 2013, with 63 percent for nonviolent offenses. They estimated Florida spends at least $50 million a year restoring competency, about $53,000 per defendant, and that people charged with minor offenses often spend longer in a mental hospital than they would have in jail.
The reporting found that treatment focused heavily on courtroom preparation, that care ended once a patient was declared competent, and that some people deteriorated and had to be returned to hospitals before their first hearing. State hospital stays averaged about 220 days, versus about 97 days at a Miami program that supports patients for at least a year after release.
The series is one of the most detailed public analyses of how Florida's restoration system is used and what it costs.
Source: Florida spends millions making sure the mentally ill go to court — and gets nothing for it — Tampa Bay Times and Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Michael Braga, Anthony Cormier and Leonora LaPeter Anton
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