Mental Illnesses of Prisoners in Washington Set-off the Alarms

The prisons in the State of Washington are full of prisoners waiting for emotional health care, which is also locked up and unanswered, according to the Washington DC- based Treatment Advocacy Center.

Among the complaints made against the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) are, for example, laws that were approved where prisoners would receive a psychiatric treatment bed for 7 days and there are many of these patients who have spent more than 7 months without even receiving treatment. For this, federal judge Marsha Pechman ruled that DSHS is violating the civil rights of defendants awaiting jail services.  

“My message to (the state) is to get your act together and take it seriously because if you let people languish in the conditions of county jails for (long periods of time), I would consider that a crime against humanity.»

Josh Stuller.

Susannah Frame | KING 5