Louisiana's forensic waitlist keeps growing, with nearly 200 jailed ahead of hospital admission
The Advocate reported that the Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System waitlist, which covers defendants found incompetent, climbed through 2023. Jefferson, East Baton Rouge, Orleans and Lafayette parishes were among the places holding waiting defendants.
The hospital already houses more than 600 patients and has faced federal sanctions over overcrowding, leaving no room for new court-ordered admissions. Plans to expand ran into community opposition, and the state turned to renovating a building at Villa Feliciana, expected in May 2024. Incompetency rulings in East Baton Rouge Parish more than doubled between 2020 and 2022.
The piece documents how a decade-old fix, the 2016 settlement, is again failing.
Source: They're supposed to be getting mental health treatment. They're in Louisiana jails instead. — The Advocate (Baton Rouge), by Rebecca Holland
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