CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A New Hampshire lawmaker and mental health advocates are asking the federal government to investigate whether it’s unjust for people with mental illnesses who haven’t been convicted of a crime to receive treatment in prison.
New Hampshire Public Radio (https://bit.ly/2bifKxa ) reports that Democratic Rep. Renny Cushing and others filed a complaint earlier this month. New Hampshire is one of the few states that transfers individuals with violent mental illnesses to the Department of Corrections.
The letter to the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division says it’s unconstitutional to send people to prison who haven’t been convicted of a crime.
They want the state to build a secure psychiatric unit outside prison and transfer authority to the Department of Health of Human Services.
Cushing expects a response this week.
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Information from: WEVO-FM, https://www.nhpr.org/
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