- Posted January 28, 2014
- Tweet This | Share on Facebook
Ingham joins ranks of mental health court programs
MASON, Mich. (AP) -- Ingham County's 55th District Court has joined the ranks of courts opting for treatment of mentally ill defendants instead of sending them to jail.
The mental health court program was started in October with a $261,000 state grant, making it one of at least 19 in the state steering defendants into treatment for mental illness, according to the Lansing State Journal.
"It needs to be done. It's the right thing to do," Judge Tom Boyd told the newspaper. "Our goal is to identify people who have committed crimes -- or been convicted of committing crimes -- who wouldn't, if they were medication- and treatment plan-compliant."
Defendants with serious mental illnesses must agree to participate. Only defendants convicted of misdemeanor offenses qualify. The program offers treatment, and help finding housing, employment and health care.
Maj. Sam Davis of the Ingham County Jail said that mentally ill inmates have a dramatic impact on the jail he oversees.
"My hope is that mental health court is going to stabilize folks who become problematic in the community, who come to us and we're ill-equipped to serve them," Davis said.
A three-year study of 10 Michigan mental health courts by the State Court Administrative Office found that mental health courts can help prevent people from committing new crimes.
"The criminal justice system isn't designed to treat people with mental health issues," Ionia County Circuit Judge David Hoort said. He started the state's first mental health court in 2007.
Seven defendants were in the program as of last week for crimes that included shoplifting, drunken driving, and an assault with a victim who wasn't seriously injured.
They hope to add up to five a month, with a maximum of 60 in the program.
"This is a cost-effective way to predict and prevent crime," Boyd said.
Published: Tue, Jan 28, 2014
headlines Oakland County
- Leading role: Firm’s new CEO ‘humbled by trust placed in me’
- Oakland County teams with United Way for Southeastern Michigan to launch water affordability program
- Dept. raises awareness about the need for loving homes during Foster Care Month
- Disbarred attorney sentenced for stealing from elderly client of law firm
- Murder trial opens in death of Detroit-area teen whose disappearance led to grueling landfill search
headlines National
- Civil legal aid lawyers are often the last line of defense. Why are there so few of them?
- Bankruptcy law firm files for Chapter 11 after losing advertising dispute
- Dentons and Boies Schiller face $300M racketeering suit after client loses international arbitration
- Mother’s Day and the changing face of family dynamics and custody arrangements
- Federal judge reprimanded for handcuffing teen spectator in scared-straight approach
- Lawyer whose firm sued Boeing finds emergency slide that fell from company’s plane near his home