LA is Locking Up More Mentally Ill People, Despite Diversion Efforts
In 2015, Los Angeles County created a program to reduce the number of mentally ill people trapped in jail. But since then, the number of people with mental illness incarcerated in LA has instead increased significantly.
Meg O'Connor Mar 02, 2023
The Criminal System is Full of People With Psychopathy. It Fails to Help Them.
An associate professor of psychology and a clinical lecturer in law at Yale explain how they’ve seen the criminal legal system treat psychopathy as a moral failing—instead of a treatable mental illness.
Arielle Baskin-Sommers, Jorge Camacho Feb 17, 2023
Amid Fears of Crime and Mental Illness, States Move to Expand Forced Treatment
Advocates of assisted outpatient treatment say it could reduce homelessness and mass shootings. Critics call it incarceration by another name.
Caleb Brennan Aug 04, 2022
28 Years, 160 Arrests: What One Man’s Record Reveals About San Diego’s Broken Justice System
What do you do with people who are repeatedly failed by social services and the legal system?
Kelly Davis Jul 11, 2022
Virginia Bans Mental Health Evidence in Trials. Lawmakers Could Soon Change This
Proposed legislation would allow people accused of crimes to tell juries if they had a mental illness, autism spectrum disorder, or an intellectual or developmental disability at the time of a crime. The bill could have helped individuals like Matthew Rushin.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Feb 24, 2021
Community-Based Emergency First Responders: Explained
In our Explainer series, Justice Collaborative lawyers, journalists, and other legal experts help unpack some of the most complicated issues in the criminal justice system. We break down the problems behind the headlines—like bail, civil asset forfeiture, or the Brady doctrine—so that everyone can understand them. Wherever possible, we try to utilize the stories of […]
Patrisse Cullors, Tim Black Jun 25, 2020
Jackie Lacey Met Her Progressive Challengers On Stage For The First Time, And It Was Explosive
A fiery debate outlined what’s at stake in the race to lead the largest prosecutor’s office in the country.
Eliyahu Kamisher Jan 30, 2020
New San Francisco D.A. Inherits Chance To Hold Police Accountable In Shooting Of Man With Mental Illness
Activists hope Chesa Boudin will press charges, and push for systemic changes to address the criminalization of mental illness.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Jan 22, 2020
‘Weird News,’ ‘Dumb Criminals’ and the Media’s Monetization of Human Misery
There’s a cynical local-to-national news pipeline designed to mock the powerless under the guise of “odd” news stories.
Adam H. Johnson Jan 16, 2020
It’s Time For LA’s District Attorney’s Office To Lead The Way On Decriminalizing Homelessness
As a form of punishment, incarceration does not enhance public safety when it is not balanced against its tendency to make a person’s unfortunate situation worse.
Alex Sherman Jan 03, 2020
An Indiana Woman’s Long Fight for Justice
In a rare move, a federal court vacated Anastazia Schmid’s murder conviction, saying she’d received ineffective assistance of counsel and had been mentally unfit to stand trial. But Schmid, who’d spent 18 years in prison, remained locked up for three months more.
Victoria Law Sep 06, 2019
Ohio Governor Wants to Detain Fewer Mentally Ill People Before Trial
In the wake of the Dayton shooting, Gov. Mike DeWine proposed creating more space in psychiatric hospitals by removing some people who are court-ordered to be there.
Kira Lerner Aug 14, 2019
L.A. Prosecutor Touts Her Mental Health Reforms, But Critics Say She’s Making The Crisis Worse
Advocates and attorneys say Jackie Lacey’s rhetoric doesn’t match her actions.
Raven Rakia Jun 07, 2019
Atlanta Bail Reform Is Leaving Behind Homeless and Mentally Ill People
A number of people spent multiple days at the Atlanta City Detention Center for low-level offenses, including for driving while using a cell phone and for walking in the roadway.
Aaron Morrison May 16, 2019
Jailed Men Get Help While Women Languish, Georgia Lawsuit Claims
Women with mental illness are left in isolation and filth, and often placed in solitary confinement, according to a suit against the Fulton County sheriff.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Apr 19, 2019
‘They’re Trying To Kill Us In Here’
At Virginia’s Hampton Roads Regional Jail, reform has been slow even after high-profile tragedies including the death of mentally disabled man incarcerated who allegedly stole $5 worth of snacks.
Aaron Morrison Apr 16, 2019
The Appeal’s Favorite Stories of 2018
Our staff picks 12 stories worth reading (or rereading) before the new year.
Dec 27, 2018
‘No Shower, Wearing Diapers, Laying There For So Long’
Lawsuits that challenge mental healthcare and medical care for incarcerated people advance in Illinois.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg Dec 05, 2018
A Distressed Man Came to a Police Station Looking for Help. Hours Later, He Was In a Coma.
Earl McNeil’s family is demanding answers from the National City, California, police department.
Max Rivlin-Nadler Jul 19, 2018
Locked up for three decades without a trial
A New York City man has been shuffled between Rikers Island and mental hospitals for 32 years.
George Joseph, Simon Davis-Cohen Jun 21, 2018
Even in the deep red South, death sentences are on the decline
Twenty years ago, a brutal murder in a red state like Mississippi would likely guarantee a death sentence for a defendant. But as last week’s sentencing of Scotty Lakeith Street illustrates, juries in the South and across the country continue to shift away from capital punishment. In 1997, four people inMississippi were sentenced to death; last year, 2016, not one person […]
Rebecca McCray Aug 10, 2017
Prosecutor pushes for Virginia man’s execution despite signs of serious mental illness
By all accounts William Morva has serious mental health issues, but he is still likely to be executed next month, with the prosecutor who convicted him pushing for his execution.
Larry Hannan Jun 29, 2017