Shuttering of Mental Hospitals Led to Flood of Mentally Ill into the Legal System

Eve Stratton, of counsel in the Vorys Columbus office who prior to joining Vorys served as justice on the Supreme Court of Ohio for 16 years, authored an article for the Daily Reporter titled “Shuttering of Mental Hospitals Led to Flood of Mentally Ill into the Legal System.”  Her article highlighted the progress Ohio has made in dealing with mentally ill individuals that end up in the legal system.

The article states:

“Everywhere, progress is being made. Silos are breaking down. Ohio has become a national leader in mental health and criminal justice reforms.

While we have come a long, long way from my early days as a judge whose only option was jail, we still have a long way to go on providing resources and needed dollars for treatment.

We don’t have enough crisis beds for police officers to drop off someone in a mental health crisis versus taking them to jail.

We don’t have enough psychiatrists, treatment providers, and facilities to care for those in distress. We still have practices and laws that inhibit treatment.

But my missionary parents created in me an eternal optimism that life can get better.”

To read the entire article, visit the Daily Recorder website. (Subscription required).