Duke Law | Mental Illness and the Criminally Accused

The Wilson Center for Science and Justice at Duke Law hosts a roundtable discussion about people with mental illnesses who are criminally accused and found incompetent to proceed in the criminal legal system. Topics include how competency restoration poses a challenge and costly management problem for state mental health and criminal legal systems; alternative pathways to community reentry for this population; the ethical-legal aspects; how mental health authorities and policymakers in different states are (or aren't) dealing with it, and what should be done. Panelists are Dr. Reena Kapoor, from Yale School of Medicine; Dr. Debra Pinals, from University of Michigan Law and Medicine; W. Lawrence Fitch, from University of Maryland Francis King Cary School of Law; and Dr. William Fisher, who works with the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors. Dr. Jeffrey Swanson from Duke School of Medicine will moderate.

[i.p.freely]

I am in Arkansas and have had mental problems so bad I've never held down a stable job in 43 years of life. I am married to a great woman over 25 years she has a bachelor's degree and helps drug addicted people! I have severe depression bipolar disorder and PTSD. I am prescribed marijuana and it helps but I am facing Criminal charges after a man drove onto my property trying to kill me. I discharged my firearm not hitting anyone. Now I'm standing trial on aggravated assault for defending myself. I was trying to scare this man away off my property and was in fear he would run me over. I'm lost don't know what to do. Attorneys want 10k to help me