Mississippi Legislature moves to limit jail detention pending civil trial — ProPublica

Mississippi lawmakers announced the move after Mississippi Today and ProPublica reported that hundreds of people in the state are jailed each year without criminal charges awaiting court-ordered mental health treatment. , overhauled the state’s civil commitment law.

Currently, anyone in the civil commitment process can be jailed if county officials determine there is no other place to detain them. House Bill 1640, signed by Gov. Tate Reeves on Wednesday, would limit this practice. According to the law, a person can be sentenced to up to 48 hours in prison only if he or she “actively engages in acts of violence” during the civil commitment process. Mental health professionals recommending commitment should document why palliative treatment is not an option. The person’s condition must then be assessed by staff at their local community mental health center before they can submit any paperwork to begin the commitment process.

Supporters said the law, which takes effect July 1, is a step forward in limiting prison detention. Those who praised it included county officials who handle pledges, associations representing sheriffs and county supervisors, and the state Department of Mental Health.

“This new process puts the individual first,” said Department of Mental Health spokesperson Adam Moore. The Ministry provides training as well as funding and services related to the commitment process. “This connects people in need of mental health services to mental health professionals as a first step in the process, before the Chancery Court or law enforcement gets involved.”

But some officials involved in the commitment process said the bill would have limited impact unless states expand the number of treatment beds. “Just because there’s a diversion program doesn’t mean there’s nowhere else to go,” said Jamie Altman, chancellor of public affairs in Lamar County, just west of Hattiesburg.

All states allow involuntary trespassing, but most do not jail people for the process unless criminal charges are filed, and some states prohibit the practice. Among the few states that incarcerate people without charge, Mississippi is unique in its frequency and duration. Under Mississippi law, people undergoing the commitment process can be jailed if there is “no reasonable alternative.” State psychiatric hospitals usually have waiting lists, and short-term crisis units are often full or turn away patients. Many county officials believe jails are the only place to house people awaiting publicly funded treatment.

An Idaho lawmaker recently took up a similar issue. There, people deemed “dangerously mentally ill” are imprisoned for months at a time. This spring, lawmakers provided funding to build a facility to house them.

Nearly every county in Mississippi reported incarcerating someone going through the commitment process at least once in the year ending June 2023, according to the state Department of Mental Health. People awaiting treatment were jailed at least 2,000 times without criminal charges in just 19 of the state’s 82 counties from 2019 to 2022, according to a review of prison records by Mississippi Today and ProPublica. . (These numbers also include counties that have provided jail records that identify civil commitment bookings, and include detentions for both mental illness and substance abuse.) (Only the commitment process is covered.)

Sheriffs have condemned the practice, saying jails are not equipped to handle people with severe mental illness. Since 2006, at least 17 people have died in prison custody during the course of civil commitments. Nine were suicides.

The bill’s sponsors said reporting in Mississippi Today and ProPublica was a spur to action. “The flaws have been outlined and are being fixed,” said state Rep. Kevin Felsher, R-Biloxi, a co-author of the bill.

As clerk of chanceryor for Lee County in northeastern Mississippi, Bill Benson has for years dealt with people who try to file affidavits alleging that someone, often a family member, should be forced into treatment. . He said a good start would be to require testing by a mental health professional. “I’m an accountant. I’m not going to try to make a decision on whether someone should commit or not,” he said. He typically allows people to submit affidavits so they can “let the judge decide.”

Under the bill, if a community mental health center recommends involvement after an initial examination, a person cannot be jailed while awaiting treatment unless all other options have been exhausted and a judge specifically orders the person to be jailed. They say they can’t. The law also specifies that people can only be held in jail for 24 hours unless community mental health centers request an additional 24-hour detention and a judge agrees. Roughly two-thirds of people incarcerated over a four-year period were held for more than 48 hours, according to an analysis by Mississippi Today and ProPublica.

However, this bill does not address the underlying reasons why so many people are incarcerated waiting for treatment beds. “We don’t know if we’ll have enough beds and staff to accommodate everyone,” Benson said. “Everyone will try to comply, but in some cases they may have to go to jail.”

The law is also silent on how its provisions will be enforced. The bill’s lead sponsor, House Public Health Chairman Sam Creekmore (R-New Albany), said the Department of Mental Health would “police this.” He also said he hopes the law’s new reporting requirements for community mental health centers will encourage county supervisors to monitor compliance.

Moore, of the Department of Mental Health, said the department will not enforce the law, but will educate county officials who are responsible for housing people on civil commitments until they can be transferred to state hospitals. “We sincerely hope that all stakeholders comply with the new processes and restrictions,” Moore said. “However, DMH has no oversight over county courts or law enforcement agencies.”

Several mental health experts and advocates for people with mental illness say the law doesn’t go far enough to ban what many say is unconstitutional. As a result, representatives from the Mississippi Disability Rights Group said they plan to sue the state and several counties.

“The fundamental flaw remains,” says Dr. Paul Appelbaum, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University and past president of the American Psychiatric Association. “There is no justification for putting someone who needs hospital-level care in prison, even for 24 hours.”