WASHINGTON – A bill to help address the treatment of mentally ill offenders by the criminal justice system cleared the Senate last night. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley shepherded the bill through the committee in April. The bipartisan bill was sponsored by Senator Al Franken and was cosponsored by Grassley along with Judiciary Committee members John Cornyn, Patrick Leahy, Richard Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse, Amy Klobuchar, Chris Coons, Lindsey Graham, Richard Blumenthal, Orrin Hatch and Dianne Feinstein, as well as 20 other senators.
“Mentally ill offenders make up a large part of the people in the criminal justice system. This bill takes into account the needs of this community in the prison system and works to support their unique health requirements in an effort to reduce the likelihood that they will reoffend,” Grassley said. “Importantly, the bill also includes accountability measures to ensure taxpayer dollars are being used in the most effective and efficient ways possible.”
The Comprehensive Justice and Mental Health Act:
• Reauthorizes the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act;
• Supports mental health courts and veterans treatment courts;
• Enhances identification of offenders with mental illness so as to provide better health services;
• Enhances efforts to deal with mentally ill offenders who are incarcerated;
• Includes accountability measures to ensure that resources are used appropriately.
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