Dallas editorial urges Texas to stop leaving mentally ill defendants in county jails
The editorial cites nearly 400 Dallas County inmates waiting for placement on a single day, with average waits of 353 days for women, 401 for men and 822 for maximum-security patients. Commissioner John Wiley Price estimated the delays had cost taxpayers about $13.5 million.
It notes that some people served out misdemeanor sentences while waiting, so their cases were dismissed without treatment. The state's response included pay raises, recruitment bonuses and a program in 15 counties to verify incompetency findings, with a new state hospital about three years away.
The editorial argues that the burden of the state's forensic capacity shortfall has shifted to counties.
Source: Other voices: Texas must stop punting mental health care to the county jails — Longview News-Journal (syndicated from The Dallas Morning News), by Dallas Morning News
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