From Crisis to Collaboration: Addressing Mental Health Challenges in the Criminal Justice System
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
On September 24, MC School of Law hosted a symposium worth two CLE hours that addressed mental health challenges in the criminal justice system. This program brought together leading practitioners and experts to discuss both the challenges and potential reforms associated with individuals with mental health issues navigating the criminal justice system. Topics included: the importance of treating all individuals with dignity; inadequacies in mental health resources and infrastructure to prevent crises on the front end; backlogs and wait times for competency evaluations once charges are filed; the ethical implications of pleading out versus seeking a mental health evaluation for clients; specialized courts and diversion programs; therapeutic jurisprudence and access to mental health services once convicted; and issues associated with the treatment of inmates on death row and the execution of the mentally ill.
Panelists included:
- Andre DeGruy (Mississippi State Public Defender)
- Cliff Johnson (Director, MacArthur Justice Center – University of Mississippi School of Law)
- Omodare Jupiter (Mississippi Federal Public Defender)
- Krissy Nobile (Director, MS Office of Capital Post-Conviction Counsel)
- Michael Perlin (Professor of Law, Emeritus and award-winning author on mental disability law, New York Law School)
- Tom Recore, M.D. (Forensic Psychiatrist and Medical Director for the MS Department of Mental Health)
- Paloma Wu (Deputy Director, George Riley Impact Litigation - MS Center for Justice)
- Jonathan Will (Moderator – Professor of Law & Director, Bioethics & Health Law Center, MC Law)
