At least 127 people found unfit to stand trial by psychiatrists are languishing on Rikers Island because there is no space at state-run mental health facilities, THE CITY has learned.
Jail insiders say that number has gone up in recent years, after usually hovering around 100. Department of Correction officials have never publicly shared historical data on that figure.
Meanwhile, internal 2024 DOC data obtained by THE CITY shows that detainees deemed unfit to stand trial are stuck behind bars for an average of 80 days — with 25 people waiting 100 or more days to be sent to a secure medical center.
By contrast, it took an average of 70 days last year, according to Zachary Katznelson, executive director of the Independent Rikers Commission, who has reviewed internal Department of Correction data.
”Rikers Island is the largest mental institution in the city and that shouldn’t be,” said a top jail official who asked to remain anonymous because they weren’t given official permission to talk to the media.
Those 127 people unfit to stand trial are sitting on Rikers as Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul have separately vowed to boost funding for people with serious mental illness.
Last year, Hochul added 25 beds in state-run mental health facilities for people facing serious criminal charges. Her proposed executive budget includes funds for a new 100-bed mental hospital on Wards Island and hiring 300 new employees to work at psychiatric centers statewide, according to Justin Mason, a spokesperson for the state’s Office of Mental Health.
But criminal justice advocates argue the governor’s plan doesn’t add any beds at maximum secure facilities for people coming from jail.
“It’s got to be a priority for the state system, absolutely,” Katznelson said. And then it’s worth exploring for the city to think about what they can do on their own.”
Shayla Mulzac-Warner, a DOC spokesperson, said the city relies on state capacity and moves people found unfit into state facilities as soon as beds are available.
“While these individuals wait on Rikers Island for an available bed, they receive mental health care from our partners at NYC Health + Hospitals/Correctional Health Services,” she added.
That treatment is far inferior to what is offered at state mental hospitals, experts note.
From ‘730’ to ‘Black Hole’
Before someone stands trial, judges can order them to undergo a what’s called a 730 exam, after the criminal procedure law. The review can be requested by their lawyer or the prosecutor or judge handling the case.
The entire process can take anywhere from a few weeks in Queens to around four months in Brooklyn, city records show.
Meanwhile, the person in jail can’t be forced to take medications and are sometimes so confused — and afraid — that they refuse to leave their cells, according to veteran jail officials.
Those deemed mentally unfit to stand trial must abide by strict daily rules such as which side of hallways to walk down even if they can’t comprehend why they are in jail in the first place.
Some are actually currently placed in the Department of Correction’s alternative to solitary program known as Enhanced Supervision Housing.
Overall, the population is so unwell that people are unable to advocate for themselves for their basic needs like food, therapy, recreation, and contact with family, said Elena Landriscina, a staff attorney with the Legal Aid Society, the city’s largest public defender organization.
“Our clients are basically in a black hole,” she said. “It’s really a horrifying situation to be representing these clients and know the danger that they are in.”
After the 730 exams, those found unfit to stand trial are typically sent to one of four psychiatric centers: Kirby on Wards Island with approximately 200 beds, Mid-Hudson in New Hampton with 288, Central New York Psychiatric Center in Marcy with 169 and Rochester Psychiatric Center with 87.
All those locations are currently overcrowded and do not have enough space for new admissions, according to people familiar with their capacity.
“But we think the problem is broader than just hospital beds,” said Landriscina from Legal Aid. “Like anything dealing with the mental health system there’s unmet needs in the community.”
‘Rotting in a Jail’
Among those awaiting transfer is Arthur E. Walker, who police said fatally stabbed his 60-year old father, Arthur Walker, inside their Queens apartment in June 2023.
A judge found the younger Walker not criminally responsible on Nov. 15 because at the time of the incident he was having a mental health incident.
But he has waited ever since to be moved to a secure state-run hospital where he will stay until he’s re-evaluated in two years, DOC records show.
“Unfortunately, people like him, who have not been found guilty of anything, are rotting in a jail, which, of course, is not conducive to any treatment they may need based upon the findings,” said his defense attorney, Mark Bederow. “So it’s regrettable, for sure.”
The Manhattan skyline looms over Rikers Island, Dec. 8, 2024. Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
Ezequiel Mendoza, who was arrested and charged with murder in June 2023, is also waiting to be moved to a state hospital, according to court records.
Prosecutors contend Mendoza fatally stabbed Rashaun Howze, 45, at an intersection in Washington Heights.
In August 2024, the judge overseeing the case, ordered Mendoza to undergo a 730 evaluation, the court records show. The review concluded he was unfit to stand trial.
But he’s been waiting for over two months to go to a medical facility, according to internal DOC records obtained by THE CITY.
Some detainees bounce between state facilities and the DOC for years, city jail records show. After time at the hospitals with the help of medication they are suddenly deemed fit to stand to trial, the data reveals.
But when they return to Rikers they stop taking their medication and are once again found incompetent, according to some long outstanding cases.
One detainee, Bernard Derr, has been held in legal limbo for 15 years, the New York Times reported in 2023. It was unclear what Derr’s current status is.
Post-pandemic Spike in Mental Health Issues
The number of city detainees with serious mental illness is rising partly because the overall population is increasing, according to Correction Department records.
Approximately 21% of people on Rikers have a serious mental illness, up from 16% in 2023 and 2022, the data reveals.
“The raw numbers have absolutely gone up,” Katznelson said. “Three years ago or so, they’re probably just over 800 people with a serious mental illness in jail, and now we’re at 1,400.”
At the same time, the total population has gone up to 6,608 as of Jan. 18, based on city records. By contrast, some 4,751 were in jail when Adams took office in January 2022. The plan to close Rikers and replace it with four borough base jails requires the population to be below 4,400 detainees.
As for the 730 exam, two forensic examiners with degrees as psychiatrists or psychologists employed by Correctional Health Services, an arm of the city’s public hospital system, conduct the review. They must go over reams of records and conduct an in-person interview with the detainee.
The evaluators are essentially charged with answering one question: Did the person facing criminal charges understand what they were doing when they allegedly committed the crime.
They each issue their own report that is then shared with the court. The process can take months but varies by borough.
In September 2018, former Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a pilot program in Queens to expedite the psychiatric evaluation process for people in that borough.
That pilot was a resounding success, according to a report by the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice in 2021, which said that the program cut the time down to as short as two weeks in many cases,.
While the program remains in place in Queens, it has not expanded into other boroughs where the wait can take months, according to defense lawyers.
Nowhere to Go
One top judge in Brooklyn said the judiciary has little recourse because of the lack of space in state facilities.
Judge Matthew D’Emic, who has overseen the borough’s mental health court for more than 20 years, said one judge has begun ordering jail officials to move people unfit to stand trial to medical facilities within 10 days.
“I guess it’s more of a suggestion than a direction, even though it’s in an order, because you can’t hold somebody in contempt if they don’t have any place to put them,” D’Emic told THE CITY.
He argued that expanding outpatient restoration programs could reduce the backlog and ultimately save costs.
“There are answers to this,” he said. “One hundred and twenty seven is not a huge number when you talk about the City of New York. I think this is a very solvable problem.”
Matthew Shapiro, a public policy expert at the National Alliance on Mental Illness – New York State, called the situation a “serious issue.”
Local jails, like Rikers, are not the right place to house people who are deemed incompetent to stand trial and thus need mental treatment, he argued.
“It should be a facility that’s designed to address somebody’s psychiatric issues,” he said. “We need more beds.”
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