The state of Colorado agreed today that defendants in need of mental health treatment shall be admitted to the state hospital in Pueblo within an average of 24 days and not have to languish in local jails for periods that have ranged up to six months during the past year.
The announcement ended fears that Colorado officials might face stiff fines and the state would be hauled into court for a costly trial for not treating mentally ill inmates housed in local jails.
The situation arose after Denver District Judge Martin Egelhoff became upset that the state hospital was not following his orders to treat criminal defendants.
Egelhoff appointed appointed lawyers Iris Eytan and Marcus Lock as special prosecutors to look into the situation.
At the time, there were 81 inmates scattered throughout local jails in Colorado who need the mental health care or evaluations.
Eytan and Lock had sought to hold Karen Beye, the new executive director of the Department of Human Services, and Dr. John DeQuardo, the new superintendent of the hospital in contempt for not following Egelhoff’s orders.
But during a hearing before Egelhoff, the special prosecutors and Assistant Attorney General Beverly Fulton, who represented the state officials, announced that there is currently no backlog primarily because the Joint Budget Committee appropriated $1.6 million on Dec. 15.
That enabled the state hospital to open a 20-bed unit for competency evaluations and to help restore inmates’ competency.
“What was accomplished was nothing short of extraordinary,” Egelhoff said of the settlement during the court session. “It became apparent to me how significant the problem was and that the problem was intolerable.”
“To go out and do what you folks did is unbelievable,” Egelhoff told the special prosecutors and Fulton.
What was involved were two months of intense settlement negotiations overseen by former Boulder District Judge Dan Hale.
Under the agreement, although the average wait time is 24 days, under no circumstances is any inmate who needs mental health evaluation or restoration to be left in a local jail more than 28 days.
Eytan said after the hearing, in which the contempt citations were dismissed, that the very health of the affected inmates was at stake.
“Their mental illness was exacerbated and compromised,” she said. “They were given meds here and there at the local jails. But lack of immediate help takes them back months and years in their treatment.”
Fulton praised the JBC for its funding, the staff of the state hospital for working through the Christmas holidays to get the new 20-bed unit up and running and Hale.
She also said that the previous hospital superintendent, Steve Schoenmakers, had worried about the situation for two years. He did everything possible to solve the situation but was hamstrung by lack of funding, Fulton said.
Eytan also said that lack of funding was a critical factor. She said the hospital staff was very interested in solving the situation.
“They are rich in the heart, but poor in the pocket,” Eytan said of the hospital.
She said this should be a wakeup call to Gov. Bill Ritter and his administration that money needs to be shifted from the Department of Corrections to the Department of Human Services so more people can be helped.
Ritter, whose transition team was actively involved in the settlement conferences, said he was glad he was able to “push this process toward resolution.
“This agreement serves everyone’s interests and was reached without lengthy and expensive litigation,” Ritter said. “Under this settlement, detainees will get the services they need in a reasonable timeframe, the jails can manage their populations better and the state can meet its obligations.”
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
