Judge Hidalgo delivers new funding for inmate mental health care
19-year-old killed in Harris County Jail, effort to reduce overcrowding
An expanded effort is underway to reduce overcrowding at the Harris County Jail to move "mentally-ill" patients out of the criminal justice limbo and through the court system. FOX 26's Political Reporter Greg Groogan reports what's on the table.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - A 19-year-old, first-time offender Fred Harris, who has special needs, was awaiting a mental competency evaluation inside the Harris County Jail. It never happened.
On his 21st day of incarceration, 98-pound Harris was savagely beaten and stabbed by inmate Michael Paul Ownby.
The victim, challenged with an IQ of 62, did not survive.
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"I hope that my son didn't die in vain and if there's anything we can get out of this is some change. What happened to him should never happen to anyone, in any family," said Dallas Garcia, Fred's mother.
Sixteen months after Fred Harris lost his life, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced the expansion of the "Jail Based Competency Restoration Program", a strategy of delivering therapeutic care aimed at re-establishing a defendant's mental health, so their case can proceed to court.
"In Harris County, there are more than 220 folks stuck in jail because they are deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial. The bottom line, there are too many folks with mental health issues stuck in jail for too long," said Hidalgo.
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Because the state's mental health facilities remain packed beyond capacity, local inmates considered incompetent can linger in custody for hundreds of days at a cost of thousands of dollars to taxpayers.
But since its 2021 inception, the jail-based program has restored 70 inmates to competency, a number the County hopes to more than double with the additional $645,000 in funding.
"These individuals are helped because of this investment, the victims are helped because of this investment, our community is safer, court backlogs will continue to improve as well as the overcrowding in our jail," said Lesley Briones, Harris Co. Commissioner Pct. 4.