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New Questions Surround Involuntary Commitment Laws in New York

By Kristin Houle

"The arrest of David M. Tarloff, a man with a long history of mental illness, in the fatal stabbing of a psychologist in Manhattan has revived discussion on the thorny issue of how people with severe mental illnesses can be helped, even when they resist that assistance," according to the New York Times ("Murder Case Focuses New Attention on Mental Illness Treatment," February 19, 2008).The article goes on to discuss the challenges of involuntary commitment laws in New York (and in most of the country):"As is standard practice in most of the country, state law in New York allows for people who are in danger of harming themselves or others to be involuntarily committed to a mental institution for evaluation and short-term treatment. A second law, adopted in 2000, allows relatives and others to ask a judge to force patients who have been released from psychiatric hospitals to receive outpatient treatment or to be involuntarily committed...continue to full post

Full post as published by Prevention Not Punishment on February 21, 2008 (boomark / email).