RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina is violating the rights of people with mental illnesses or disabilities who are accused of committing crimes by keeping them in custody for longer than should be allowed, a new lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit, filed last week by advocacy group Disability Rights North Carolina, blames a decline in government services and a sluggish bureaucratic process. Because of those problems, it says, people who face questions over their mental competence to stand trial are being improperly forced to spend months in jail after being arrested — and in some cases longer than they would have spent in prison even if found guilty.
“North Carolinians with serious mental health disabilities and other cognitive disabilities are languishing in jails for months, and in some severe cases, years at a time,” the lawsuit says. “Their prolonged detention extends well beyond what is reasonable under the circumstances for an evaluation and determination of whether they possess the requisite mental capacity to proceed to trial.”
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