Mississippi’s New Mental Health Law Struggles with Inconsistent Data, Challenging Implementation
In an effort to curb the problematic trend of incarcerating individuals solely for their mental health issues, Mississippi enacted a new civil commitment law last year, officials report. The legislation comes in response to troubling findings that revealed many individuals with serious mental illnesses were being detained without criminal charges as they awaited involuntary psychological evaluations and treatment, a practice resulting in at least 17 deaths since 2006. Despite the intentions behind the law, which restricts the jailing of mentally ill individuals to those who are “actively violent” and for no more than 48 hours, … Read more