South Dakota AG says DCI will investigate 'disturbance' at State Penitentiary
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Daugaard supports Chief Justice's calls for mental illness task force

Mark Walker
mwalker@argusleader.com

Gov. Dennis Daugaard supports a task force proposed by the state's top judge to examine how mental illness is affecting the court system.

Specifically, the governor said Friday that he is concerned about how long people charged with crimes are spending in jail awaiting mental health evaluations. A significant increase in the evaluations – ordered when judges believe that a defendant's mental state may play a role in trial – was the subject of an Argus Leader Media investigation published last week.

The chief justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court, David Gilbertson, announced the formation of the task force on Friday, though details such as members and scope are yet to come.

Daugaard said in an interview with the Argus Leader that he is concerned about the length of time people are spending in jail – defendants routinely waited half a year or more – waiting for the evaluations without trial. The delays raise questions about the violation of a defendant's right to due process from the legal system as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

"We don't want people put behind bars who have mental health issues that should be treated or could be treated," Daugaard said. "We want those things to be identified sooner than later."

Argus Leader investigation: Locked in Limbo

The series detailed the experiences of several defendants with mental illnesses who waited up to 10 months, unable to make bail, for an evaluation. The number of requests rose to 147 last year, overwhelming the South Dakota Human Services Center, which only takes three such cases per month. That leaves county governments – which administer the courts system and jails – to fill the gap.

A general shortage of psychiatrists in South Dakota and elsewhere aggravates the problem, according to the Argus Leader Media series. Gilbertson announced in a press release plans to appoint a task force to study mental illness and its impacts on the criminal justice system.

"Mental illness is all too common a root cause for an individual's entry into the criminal justice system," Gilbertson said. "By analyzing data and studying this issue, South Dakota's criminal justice system can look for improvements that will benefit the person suffering from a mental illness as well as our criminal justice system and community health system as a whole."

Task force members will include law enforcement, prosecutors, county officials, mental health professionals and representatives from the state's Unified Judicial System and Department of Social Services.

The task force is scheduled to begin work early next year.

Officials in the Daugaard administration previously said the delays in mental health evaluations was an issue for county governments to address. But the governor said Friday that all the affected parties need to discuss solutions.

"I think this is everyone's problem," he said. "It's your problem. It's my problem. It's everybody's problem."

Phyllis Arends, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Sioux Falls, said a mental illness task force is long overdue.

"There is no better time than the present to do this," Arends said. "NAMI is looking forward to being a part of this process."

Minnehaha County Public Defender Traci Smith said she looks forward to seeing all stakeholders at the table to address issues of mental health.

"I am grateful that our chief justice has chosen to tackle this issue head on," Smith said.

Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead said much work needs to be done on the mental health care front. He said this is a great opportunity to develop strategies to address the issues.

"I'm excited about it," Milstead said. "I'm glad the governor sounds enthused, as well, because this is an issue that needs to be responded to by more than one agency. A statewide effort in my mind would be welcomed."

Lynne Valenti, secretary of the Department of Social Services, said addressing the backlog in competency evaluation is a complex issue that will likely require multiple solutions.

Valenti said options the task force should consider include regional mental health care facilities and programs to divert people with mental illnesses from the court system.

"There is no quick and easy fix to this problem," Valenti said.