ACLU sues Pennsylvania over months-long jail waits for court-ordered competency treatment
WHYY reported that the suit, filed on a Thursday in October 2015, asks the court to certify a class of jailed defendants who have been ordered into restoration treatment but have not been admitted. It argues that the delays violate due process. Pennsylvania has only two state facilities that take these patients, Norristown State Hospital and Torrance State Hospital near Pittsburgh.
According to the complaint as described by the station, the average wait is 391 days, one defendant waited 589 days, some have been held in solitary confinement for as long as a year, and two defendants died in jail while waiting. ACLU legal director Vic Walczak said the waiting list was growing faster than bed space and that the state would likely need another forensic unit. The Department of Human Services declined to comment on pending litigation.
The case, J.H. v. Dallas, became the main court-driven pressure point on Pennsylvania's forensic bed shortage and led to a settlement within months.
Source: Pa. treatment delays for defendants deemed incompetent to stand trial spurs ACLU suit — WHYY, by Bobby Allyn
← Back to the map