Last week the Lewiston Sun Journal published two articles focused on the controversial law LD 1515, which would have transferred forensic patients (people found not criminally responsible or incompetent to stand trial) from the Riverview State Psychiatric Hospital to a new mental health unit located within the Maine State Prison. Not surprisingly this proposal was met with considerable opposition. Find the ACLU of Maine’s letter to the legislature here. Fortunately the bill was amended so that both patients found not criminal responsible and incompetent to stand trial would not be transferred to this unit.

In its original form, LD 1515 was a scary example of the criminal justice Band-Aid. It is widely acknowledge that our mental health system is in serious need of reform and there is no readily avaliable solution. However, housing patients in prison because we are not equipped to address their needs, is absolutely not the answer.

The failings of our mental health system is already reflected in the makeup of our prison and jail populations. According to a study done by the Treatment Advocacy Center, if you suffer from a mental illness in Maine you are more likely to end up in prison or jail than a psychiatric hospital.

Our criminal justice system and mental health system are separate entities and need to remain that way.  While we can all acknowledge that there are no easy answers to addressing deficiencies in our mental health system, we must resist the temptation to reach for the criminal justice Band-Aid.