A disability rights organization is suing Maryland’s health minister and health department in federal prosecutor for allowing mentally ill people accused of crimes to spend their days behind bars rather than being admitted to mental facilities as required by state laws.
The lawsuit brought by Illness Right Maryland on Thursday alleges that Maryland’s Health Secretary, Dr. Laura Herrara Scott, and the Maryland Department of Health are breaking the Americans with Disabilities Act and the U.S. and Maryland governments.
The problem seeks to address a long-standing state crisis that leaves hundreds of defendants imprisoned in jails that are inadequate to address their conditions after being found to mentally ill to appear in court cases and found to be a danger to themselves or others.
Within ten days of a jury’s order, the Maryland Health Department is required to declare defendants who are deemed inept to state hospitals. In fact, that seldom happens.
More than 200 people have been detained and are currently languishing in jails, some for weeks to months, according to the complaint, and have been charged by the State of Maryland with a criminal offense but determined to be incompetent to stand trial ( IST ) and a potential danger to themselves or others due to their mental health. The Maryland Department of Health has consistently failed to undertake these people to an acceptable health care service for purposes of cure, as ordered by Maryland authorities.
Health authorities told The Baltimore Sun in July that it typically takes the health ministry 53 business time to move ignorant accused from county prison to one of the state’s five mental health facilities. The agency’s more than 1, 000 rooms are continuously complete, as patients stay in the district’s worry for more than two years on average.
Judges around the state have fined the ministry hundreds of thousands of dollars because of the department’s persistent failure to follow the 10-day date set forth by state laws. According to health authorities, the issue is not resolved by the fines.
On Thursday, a heath division spokesperson did not respond to an email request for comment.
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