Determining whether someone is mentally fit to stand trial in Pennsylvania often traps them in the very place making them worse — jail. · Spotlight PA

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A Criminal Solution

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Determining whether someone is mentally fit to stand trial in Pennsylvania often traps them in the very place making them worse — jail.

Rachel Bridgeman spent 49 days in Allegheny County Jail waiting for treatment at a state hospital because a court found her incompetent to stand trial.

Determining if someone is mentally fit for trial in Pa. often traps them in the place making them worse — jail

by Danielle Ohl of Spotlight PA and Brittany Hailer of The Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism

A Spotlight PA/PINJ investigation found few state hospital beds for those with severe mental illness, ill-equipped jails, and a system so broken some defense attorneys avoid it entirely.

Danielle Ohl, Brittany Hailer, Tanisha Long, Nev Jones, and Jeremy Northup discuss the findings of Spotlight PA's "A Criminal Solution" investigation at an event in Pittsburgh.

Four takeaways from our event discussing incarceration and mental health in Pennsylvania

by Danielle Ohl of Spotlight PA

Nate Smallwood / For Spotlight PA and PINJ

WATCH! A panel on incarceration and mental health in Pa.

by Spotlight PA Staff

Torrance State Hospital is one of only two hospitals in Pa. that provide "competency restoration," treatment for people who have been deemed incompetent to stand trial.

How some police, attorneys, and jails are trying to help Pa.’s ailing system for mentally ill people

by Danielle Ohl of Spotlight PA

The Allegheny County Jail, where people deemed incompetent to stand trial wait for a spot in a state hospital.

Competency proceedings in Pa. typically involve minor crimes

by Danielle Ohl of Spotlight PA and Brittany Hailer of The Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism

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