It’s not unusual for people who have mental health challenges – especially untreated ones – to get caught up in the criminal justice system. Incarcerating them, especially if it’s done without proper diagnosis or treatment, can significantly worsen their mental health and potentially make them even more dangerous to themselves and others.
Last year, a new Florida law took effect that is designed to divert some offenders with mental health issues out of the criminal justice system and into treatment. The Tristan Murphy Act was named for a young man who died by suicide while in a prison work program in 2021.
What does the law do?
The law allows people to be screened for mental health issues within 24 hours of being arrested and “diverted” to mental health treatment if warranted, rather than being incarcerated in the larger prison system. Further, the law requires the Florida Department of Corrections to evaluate both the physical and mental health of any inmate eligible for work assignments before allowing them to participate.
The law also increases training for 911 operators to help them determine whether a mental health response team should be sent to a scene. Too often, law enforcement officers aren’t able to appropriately deal with someone who is suffering a mental health crisis. This can result in injury or death for the person in crisis and/or the officers.
Who is and isn’t eligible?
To be eligible for the pretrial felony mental health diversion program, a person cannot be charged with a violent felony or have a significant history of violent behavior. Further, they cannot have had more than three previous felony convictions in the last five years. They must be determined to have a mental illness.
When he signed the legislation into law last summer, Gov. Ron DeSantis said, “A lot of people that interact with the justice system, the root cause is not that they’re bad people trying to harm others, it’s that they’ve got a lot of mental health problems that are leading to behavior that is anti-social.”
While this law is certainly a step in the right direction, it doesn’t guarantee that people who qualify for and belong in a mental health diversion program will be correctly directed to the program. That’s why it’s critical for loved ones to get experienced legal guidance as soon as possible.