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When Mental Health Crises Arise, Columbus Police Brings Social Workers Along

Social worker Kristin Moreland changes the car radio from a country station to one that plays Top 40 Hits. “He’ll probably change it back,” Moreland says, gesturing to Columbus Police officer Bob Heinzman. Read more and listen.
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Florida’s Flawed Baker Act Rips Thousands of Kids from School

Over the past seven years, children have been taken from public schools in Tampa Bay more than 7,500 times and temporarily placed in mental health facilities. They often leave campus handcuffed in the back of police cruisers. Some are as…
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Registration Open: 2019 Defending Modern Drug Cases Seminar

Once again, drug prosecutions are on the rise. From challenging the arrest and seizure to picking a jury to cross-examining police officers, defense attorneys handling drug cases must be able to construct a defense that will increase the chances…
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Police Encounter Many People with Mental-Health Crises. Could Psychiatrists Help? – The Washington Post

Police departments have become a de facto arm of the American mental-health system. Research suggests that about 2 million people with serious mental illness are booked into jails in the United States each year. A 2016 review of studies estimated…
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Orange Sheriff Candidates Discuss Mental Health, Excessive Force in Pine Hills

Mental health and excessive force were among the topics discussed by candidates for Orange County Sheriff in Pine Hills Thursday evening. Orlando Police Chief John Mina, retired Florida Highway Patrol Chief Joe Lopez and Orlando businessman…
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Collier County Tackles Mental Health Issues in Jails – FOX 4

  The father of a suspect who shot a Ft. Myers Police officer says his son suffered from mental illness. 29-year-old Wisner Desmaret had just been released from a Sarasota jail when he shot and critically wounded FMPD Officer…
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Police, Race, and the Production of Capital Homicides – Columbia Public Law

Last month, Columbia Law School published a new research paper on racial disparities in capital punishment. Abstract Racial disparities in capital punishment have been well documented for decades. Over 50 studies have shown that Black…
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Supreme Court Won’t Hear the Case of Brendan Dassey, Sentenced to Life as a Teen and Featured in ‘Making a Murderer’ – The Washington Post

The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a plea to intervene in the case of Brendan Dassey, whose confession to rape and murder as a teenager was portrayed as coerced in the popular Netflix documentary “Making a Murderer.” Read more.
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New Study Gives Broader Look into How Police Killings Affect Black Americans’ Mental Health – PBS NewsHour

Police killings of unarmed black Americans negatively affect the mental health of black adults in the states where the fatal incidents occur, according to a study published Thursday. Read more.
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Florida Sheriff Sued for Jailing Teen Suspects in Solitary – The New York Times

A civil rights group filed suit Thursday against a Florida sheriff and school district, claiming that juvenile suspects are unjustly kept in solitary confinement without cause and denied a proper education as they await trial as adults. The…