North Carolina Disability Rights recently filed a lawsuit against North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services in federal court, alleging that long waits for mental health care in jails and prisons are a violation of the civil rights of incarcerated individuals. One specific case highlighted in the lawsuit involved Devonte Watson, who was found to lack the mental capacity to assist in his defense after being incarcerated for assaulting a law enforcement officer in 2022. Despite state law requiring him to receive care in order to move his case forward, Watson spent 600 days in a Cleveland County jail before being admitted to a state psychiatric hospital.
The lawsuit argues that the long waits for mental health care not only violate the civil rights of those with mental illness but also contravene the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. Watson’s case was featured in a WFAE series titled “Fractured,” which explored the issue of extended waits for mental health services in the criminal justice system. One of the key factors identified in the complaint is the lack of available beds in North Carolina’s psychiatric hospitals, resulting in defendants with mental disabilities waiting an average of nearly five months to be placed in a facility.
The Department of Health and Human Services has acknowledged the current wait time for a bed is approximately 159 days, or just over five months, and has implemented measures to address the issue. For instance, a ten-person in-jail restoration unit has been established in the Mecklenburg jail, with plans for another unit to begin operating in Wake County. The ACLU has also joined the lawsuit, urging a federal court to compel the state to develop a plan to decrease wait times for mental health care services.