Relatives of people with mental disabilities who are imprisoned in California this week celebrated the court ruling, delivered by the Court based in San Francisco, which prevents these people from remaining detained for prolonged periods without receiving the necessary medical attention.
The United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that in California the prolonged detention of people who have been declared incompetent to be tried – due to a psychiatric or intellectual disability – violates his right to due process.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California, which filed the lawsuit in 2016, indicated that incarceration without adequate treatment has profound implications for the thousands of inmates who decay in county jails each year because they cannot defend themselves.
Anguish in and out of jail
Stephanie Stiavetti, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit who indicated that her brother was abused in jail in 2014, said the court’s decision is a step toward right direction.
“I am doubly happy that the courts have decided to uphold this decision because ultimately it is very important for the mental health of people who suffer in this way ”Said the woman with Peruvian roots. ” above all they are patients rather than prisoners. ”
The complaint explains that Stiavetti’s brother, identified only as N, was imprisoned on 28 August 2014 for obstructing the performance of some law enforcement officers.
A Once incarcerated, the documents indicate, he had to wait for more than two months to be transferred from the Contra Costa County Jail, in the north of the state, to the Metropolitan State Hospital to receive treatment for his mental health problems.
Shortly thereafter, he was returned to Contra Costa jail and in early 2015 he was re-admitted to the hospital due to his mental disability.
N’s situation was an example of how the system works that requires prisoners with psychiatric disabilities to be sent to hospital for evaluation and treatment. Then they must return to court to face the judge again, who is in charge of deciding if they are still capable of submitting to a trial or if they need more treatment.
“Then they must return to the hospital, which introduces an additional delay because again they just sit there in jail until another bed is opened, ”
explained.
He says that while his brother was in jail, he did not understand the rules and constantly suffered from depression, confusion or agitation. This caused him to get into fights with other inmates and with the officers. He was sent to solitary confinement, which caused him more confusion because he did not understand the limbo he was in.
N’s incarceration also severely affected his family members who did not know how
Stiavetti, who declined to mention his brother’s current state, said the state must recognize that there are too many mental health patients suffering in prisons, lost in a system plagued with abuses and poorly prepared to deal with them.
“Immediate legislation is needed to ensure that people with mental health disorders receive prompt treatment outside the prison system,” he said. the plaintiff.
Thousands of prisoners affected
Michael Risher, attorney for the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, He said that in the Golden State for more than a decade people with mental illness or developmental disabilities have been in jail for months and months without any tr binding.
The lawsuit filed six years ago indicates that people cannot be kept in jail indefinitely and without treatment, when criminal proceedings are suspended.
“They have to provide treatment or they have to let it out,” Risher said.
It was accepted that the state had violated the constitutional rights of thousands of people. “Starting next year [el estado] you have to start treating people within 28 court days by sending the documentation to the system, ”said the lawyer.
This does not mean that people should be transported to a state hospital, but rather that they should be treated. This could be out of jail in the community safely where hospitals are effective and cheaper.
“And it means that the state can provide more treatment for the same amount of money, ”Risher said.
Although there is no exact number of people by ethnicity, Risher said the criminal justice system disproportionately affects people of color and poor people.
“We know that a large percentage of these people who are found incompetent to stand trial were homeless before being arrested,” Risher said.
“So what we can say for sure is that this is a problem that disproportionately affects poor people and the homeless.”
The court did not specify how it should be provided the treatment, what he did make sure is that people cannot be allowed to remain in jail for months after a judicial proceeding is suspended.
Actu Currently there are about 1, 600 people in jail waiting for a medical treatment for their mental health that is guaranteed by the Constitution, Risher added.
The Department of the State Hospital (DSH), which takes care of people suffering from mental illness, receives around 4 each year, 000 people with these types of difficulties.
During the pandemic the DSH did not accept anyone outside of prison, but a couple of months ago the office of the legislative analyst indicated that the numbers have returned to pre-pandemic levels of between 300 and 400 people at month.