Knox County State’s Attorney Jeremy Karlin announced this weekend that he has filed three petitions in court seeking to hold the Illinois Department of Human Services in contempt.
He contends that the IDHS has failed to transport defendants previously found unfit to stand trial to DHS mental health hospitals. Karlin says that three defendants have been found unfit to stand trial and ordered into the custody of DHS.
They were evaluated by DHS and found to be suitable for placement in McFarland Mental Health Hospital. However, the three have not been moved and some had been waiting for over 100 days
“The duty of the Knox County State’s Attorney’s Office is to ensure the administration of justice in all aspects of each case,” Karlin said in a release issued on Friday. “The people of Knox County, our jail staff, and most importantly these individuals, are being denied justice due to the backlog of transfers to DHS facilities. It is unfair to expect correctional staff to provide much-needed mental health services to people in need. DHS has allowed these human beings to languish in jail without treatment, and significantly deteriorate due to the lack of DHS transport. It is a disservice to the people in need of mental health care, the victims in these cases who must wait for resolution, jail staff whose own safety is jeopardized, and the taxpayers who should rightfully expect state agencies to comply with their duties in a timely manner.”
Associate Circuit Judge Curtis Lane issued orders directing the DHS Secretary to appear in court on July 27. Karlin does say that since the filings were issued, one defendant has been transported to McFarland Hospital.
