Columbia, Missouri (KMIZ)
Across Missouri, 314 people are in prison awaiting treatment from the Department of Mental Health.
These people were deemed incompetent to stand trial, but were not admitted to the department for treatment. An additional 268 people are awaiting evaluation of their competency to stand trial. In November, 297 people were waiting for evaluation.
Janet Simmons, assistant director of behavioral health for the Missouri Department of Mental Health, said the long wait times are due to more people needing services. This makes it difficult for staff to keep up with the growing number of people needing their services.
“The situation probably won’t get better any time soon as these orders and requests for evaluations continue to come in. (Demand) will continue to grow,” Simmons said. “The existing facility does not have sufficient capacity.”
Boone County Prosecutor Roger Johnson said he believes this is a serious problem for people in the Boone County Jail.
“The systems that are supposed to work and provide services are not working,” Johnson said.
There are currently 13 people in the Boone County Jail who have been deemed incompetent and are awaiting treatment from DMH, said Lt. Jenny Atwell of the Boone County Sheriff’s Office. Of the 13, the longest an inmate waited was Aug. 7, 2023, and has been in custody since July 2022, Atwell said.
Eight people are still in jail awaiting evaluation, Atwell said.
Cole County Sheriff John Wheeler said there are two inmates in the jail awaiting testing and treatment. One person has been on standby since December 7th, and the other person has been on standby since September 7th.
Additionally, two people are awaiting evaluation at the Cole County Jail. One has been waiting since Nov. 9, 2023, and the other has been waiting since Feb. 28, 2024, Wheeler said.
On Thursday, a judge postponed the trial date for Quatavia Givens, a woman who was charged in 2018 with the murder of an infant and was deemed incompetent but has not received medical treatment until Aug. 14, 2023.
Givens’ attorney filed an objection Wednesday, saying Givens has not yet received medical treatment and remains in custody at the jail. The complaint alleges that Givens was 72nd on the waiting list when he was ordered to be executed. Her complaint alleges that as of Wednesday, she was 36th on the waiting list.
The next court date is Wednesday, March 13 at 1 p.m. The trial date was originally set for October 3rd and Tuesday, March 12th.
Johnson said Missouri law requires a person to be tested within 60 days of being taken into custody. He said some people in Boone County can wait up to six months, which doesn’t allow their cases to move forward.
“For people who have serious mental health issues and need additional services, the wait is often six months,” Johnson said. “We just had a case that we’ve been fighting with the mental health department for months.”
