Prosecutors may often be confronted with a complex moral dilemma when pursuing cases against first-time offenders. Namely, does every first-time offender, whose past offers little or no indication that she may commit a future crime, deserve to have a permanent felony on his or her record and face possible jail time?
Showing posts with label diversion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label diversion. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Mental Health Laws After the Death of Kelly Thomas and the Isla Vista Massacre
Scott Thorpe, an individual suffering from schizophrenia,
shot and killed Laura Wilcox at a mental health clinic over a decade ago. Shortly thereafter, a law passed in the State
of California, named “Laura’s Law.” It allowed
for family members, mental health professionals, and officers to petition the
court to order “assisted outpatient treatment” for those who have a severe
mental disability.[1]
Laura’s Law is optional for counties to
implement. Until recently, only one county
(Nevada County, CA) has the law in place. After the death of Kelly Thomas, a homeless
man beaten to death in a struggle with Fullerton police, Orange
County also implemented the law. On
Tuesday, May 13, 2014, five Orange County supervisors voted
unanimously to adopt Laura’s Law. The
law will go into effect in October 2014, and will apply only to severely
mentally ill adults who have had two psychiatric hospitalizations or
incarcerations in the past two years and who have engaged in violence or
attempted violence over the last four years. Los Angeles County also has a similar pilot
project that was set to expire in 2013 but has recently been extended to 2017.[2]
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