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Report: New Options Increase Treatment, Reduce Recidivism for Defendants with Mental Illness

Here's a press release received today from the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense:New Options Increase Treatment, Reduce Recidivism for Defendants with Mental IllnessAUSTIN ?The Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense released a study today showing that criminal offenders with mental impairments who are treated for their illness instead of being jailed are less likely to commit crimes again for up to eighteen months. Moreover, offenders suffering from one of the three serious mental illnesses--major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia--were twice as likely to receive probation rather than jail time if represented by a mental health public defender, compared to other defendants with similar criminal and mental-health backgrounds.The two-year study examined mental health courts and mental health public defender offices in three Texas counties: Tarrant, Dallas and Travis...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on May 03, 2010 (boomark / email).