More funding for mentally ill welcome
In Colorado, jails and prisons have become de facto psychiatric treatment programs for individuals with serious mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders. Most of these individuals are not violent criminals but rather have been charged or convicted of minor, nonviolent offenses directly linked to the symptoms of their untreated illnesses.
Gov. Bill Ritter’s proposal to invest $8 million in mental health and substance abuse treatment to reduce the numbers of repeat offenders represents a welcome step forward in addressing the tragic and unnecessary criminalization of people with serious mental illness.
In the long term, this investment in vital services will benefit all Colorado citizens by enhancing public safety and reserving jails and prison cells for true criminals.
Lacey Berumen, Denver executive director, National Alliance for the Mentally Colorado
We have succeeded beyond our wildest dreams in increasing the size of the prison population in the United States. It's nice to see an effort being made to reduce that population by rehabilitating people instead of warehousing them.
Posted by Truth on March 28, 2007 07:38 AMJust wait until one of these "rehabilitated" people comes and knocks down your door in the middle of the night and demands money and then rapes and kills you anyway. Then whose fault is it for letting them runn loose?
Posted by on March 28, 2007 02:05 PM