For residents of Police Beat 1122 on Chicago's West Side – and for all who watched on TV or social media – the killing of Dexter Reed last month after he was stopped for an alleged seatbelt violation was a vivid reminder: Such violence could happen to them at any time.
He took his case, arguing that extended solitary confinement was cruel and unusual, all the way to the Supreme Court – and lost. Today he's out of prison working to rebuild his life.
The banging and groans from the cell above had been going on for days. Kory McClary didn't know the name of the man, but his distress was unmistakable. McClary heard him banging on his toilet and his bunk for days with only small breaks in between. He heard him battling guards who entered the cell. He heard him screaming in pain.
The Supreme Court refused to hear a case from an Illinois man whose mental illness was exacerbated by being locked in a windowless cell virtually 24/7 for three years. Plus, overdose deaths among people incarcerated in Louisiana prisons are on the rise and people charged with no crime are jailed in Mississippi awaiting mental health evaluations.
Two reporters from the Medill Investigative Lab-Chicago take us behind the scenes on their deeply reported stories. One looked at the deadly shootings by New Hampshire police of people in mental health crisis. The other looked at the intense stress that 911 call-takers are under.
A Sunshine State woman who thought she had agreed to a voluntary mental exam suddenly found a police car outside her door,. Oklahoma is under fire for letting mentally ill patients incompetent to testify languish in jail. And a tragic police response to a mentally ill woman in crisis, this time in San Antonio.
Can a new legal settlement really change things for people with mental illness in LA County jails? We ask an advocate who's been deeply involved. We also revisit the story of an activist who rebounded from her own burnout and now helps others reclaim their mental, physical, and spiritual health. And more.
Advocates hail the settlement as a victory for mentally ill people and as a major step to reducing jail populations and improving conditions for those who remain.
A MindSite News Original explores the first 9 months of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
In New York, a man was shot by police during a mental health crisis after his father called 311. And earlier this month, Spotlight PA took a deep dive into the competency review process in Pennsylvania after learning about a woman trapped in the incompetent system.
A new study from Pew Charitable Trusts finds that one in nine arrests are of people with both mental illness and addiction. We also explore the story of Anthony Gay, who lives with serious mental illness and was originally sentenced to seven years in prison, but ended up with 97 years added to his sentence.
Some 7.5 million people were arrested in the U.S. in 2020, and more than 10 million people were arrested each year in the 2010s. Now a new study looking at three of those years, 2017 to 2019, finds that one in nine of all arrests was of a person grappling with both a mental health and substance use disorder.
During his six decades on the planet, Douglas Reed has worn many uniforms. He spent two decades in Army fatigues, then did a tour in federal prisons as a corrections officer. Nowadays he tours the U.S. talking about his mental health journey. MindSite News Reporter Josh McGhee spoke with him about his path.
Chicago has been rolling out a pilot program testing alternative ways to respond to mental health-related 911 calls. The program is meeting with success, but handles only a fraction of those calls. The effort has kicked off a debate about the role of police.
More than 330 elected officials and political candidates have pledged to make mental health a priority in their platform just weeks before the midterm elections.
Mental health is becoming a political issue – and that’s a good thing. On Tuesday, Oct. 18, Colorado U.S. Senate candidates Michael Bennett and Joe O’Dea will discuss mental health issues in a campaign forum.
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