Gavel and scales

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By Katie Fretland of The Commercial Appeal

People detained at the Shelby County Jail are waiting an “extraordinary” amount of time for state treatment of serious mental illness, Shelby County’s chief public defender says in a letter to state officials.

Referencing a “crisis” in admissions from the jail to state hospitals, Shelby County Public Defender Stephen Bush said in a letter to the state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services that he is “shocked” by the delay for people who are court-ordered for treatment at the Western Mental Health Institute in Bolivar.

“As of this moment, there are 10 people in the Shelby County Jail awaiting involuntary judicial hospitalization after a state court judge determined they require treatment and care in an inpatient setting,” Bush said in a letter Friday to the department’s commissioner, E. Douglas Varney. “Together they have been waiting a total of 795 days, which creates unnecessary risk of harm and is extraordinarily costly to Shelby County taxpayers. Only one person has been admitted to the state hospital system from the Shelby County Jail since July 21, 2016. He waited 162 days.”

Varney responded Monday, saying the state is working hard to address the problem, which he said was “relatively new” and was the result of both increased referrals from Shelby County and demand nationwide for psychiatric inpatient beds.

“Relative to other states, Tennessee generally has a good track record of meeting the needs of its citizens,” Varney wrote in his response. “With that being said, I am concerned about access to inpatient treatment in our State. This lack of availability is magnified when the patients do not have any financial resources to help pay for services. State funded beds are limited, and our Department is focused on ensuring that all citizens have access to care as quickly as possible given available resources.”

Bush said he is seeking “immediate corrective action” for delays that have risen to a level he said he hasn’t seen in his 25-plus years of practicing law.

“The present precarious situation places unfair burdens on jail personnel who bear the responsibility to provide care and ensure safety,” Bush wrote. “In addition each person awaiting admission has also been found to lack adequate mental competence to proceed with the adjudication of charges against them. As a result, not a single person on your waiting list can exercise the right to have a trial, or otherwise resolve the charges he or she is facing. I know you agree it is unconscionable for individuals who suffer from serious mental illness to languish for so long after a judge has determined that hospitalization is required.”

The letter is below.

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