Criminal Defense Attorney, Iris Eytan Speaks Out of Behalf of Mentally Ill Colorado Inmates

Criminal Defense Attorney, Iris Eytan Speaks Out of Behalf of Mentally Ill Colorado Inmates

Colorado inmates are languishing in local jails without mental health evaluations or mental health care because the state hospital is short-staffed, an advocacy group charged Tuesday.

The Disability Law Center said the state is violating a federal court settlement requiring the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo to admit inmates within 28 days after a judge orders a competency evaluation or rules an inmate is incompetent to stand trial.

“These are people who are locked in a jail and they have no means to obtain mental health treatment other than through (the) state,” said esteemed Denver lawyer Iris Eytan, an attorney for the Disability Law Center. Some are disrupting the jails because of their illness and wind up charged with additional crimes while they wait, she said.

To read the full article on CBS Denver, click here.