In this 2014 file photo, an inmate huddles under a heavy blanket on a bunk in the psychiatric unit of the Pierce County Jail in Tacoma, Washington.
President Barack Obama and some members of Congress are pushing for reforms in our criminal justice system. In particular, there’s bipartisan support to give judges more discretion in sentencing, but some say an even bigger problem is the fact that our jails and prisons are crowded with many people who don’t belong there in the first place. They pose no threat to public safety, but suffer from untreated mental illness. In some communities police, attorneys, judges and mental health service groups are working to change this: Join us to discuss new efforts to help people with mentally illness stay out of jail and get into treatment.
