Missouri Department of Mental Health sued over long waits for mental competency exams
Matthew Sanders
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
A group of private citizens has sued the state, asking a federal court to compel the Missouri Department of Mental Health to reduce criminal defendants’ wait times for mental health exams that determine their competency to stand trial.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in the Western District of Missouri, names the department along with several officials working for the state and seeks class action status. The plaintiffs are friends and family of several people who are waiting in jails for a competency evaluation.
The lawsuit claims the state is violating the due process and civil rights of people in jails waiting for mental evaluation and treatment. The plaintiffs want a preliminary injunction to force action by the state.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to force the state to reform its program to reduce wait times for exams and time spent waiting for a mental health bed after a defendant is deemed incompetent. The exams are done to see if defendants are mentally competent to stand trial.
The lawsuit claims that those defendants who are found incompetent for trial then wait an average of 14 months in jail before they’re sent to a treatment facility. State law, the petition states, requires them to be transferred immediately.
Local examples show how long it can take to get an exam. A Jefferson City murder suspect charged in 2018 was not deemed incompetent until five years later.
The lawsuit includes another local case as an example of a person who died while waiting for a mental examination. Brooke Bailey died in the Cooper County Jail in 2023 of diabetes complications. Two jail staffers were charged in her death.