Tag Archive for: Tampa

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…

Lawmakers Call for Investigations into Wesley Chapel Psychiatric Hospital
State and federal lawmakers are asking for reviews of North Tampa Behavioral Health after the Tampa Bay Times found that it exploits patients held under the state’s mental health law.
U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, sent a letter…

Charged with a Tampa Murder 20 Years Ago, He Still Awaits Trial
He lives in a dorm room in a tan and white building surrounded by metal fences and razor wire. The institution sits on a grassy patch south of Miami, at the edge of the Everglades, almost at the edge of the Sunshine State.
His days are spent…

Howell Donaldson III Ruled Competent Stand Trial in Seminole Heights Killings – The Tampa Bay Times
If Howell Emanuel Donaldson III suffers from mental illness, it is not enough to halt the legal proceedings against him.
Weeks after the serial murder defendant underwent three separate psychological examinations, a judge deemed him competent…

Registration Open: Defender Summer School, August 6-7
Registration is now open for the 2018 Defender Summer School, hosted by Robert Wesley, Public Defender for the Ninth Judicial Circuit.
Speakers
Prof. Denis Keyes, Professor of Education, College of Charleston
Dr. I. Bruce Frumkin,…

Florida’s Pattern is Underfunding School Psychologists and Resource Officers – The Miami Herald
Legislators, mental health professionals, and law enforcement have expressed concern regarding Florida's failure to adequately fund school psychologists and resource officers. Read more.

Before Son’s Gruesome Crime, She Turned to State’s Mental Health System. It Didn’t Help – The Miami Herald
This exposé from The Miami Herald tells the story of Della Wright's struggle with her son's substance abuse problems and severe schizophrenia. Read more.
Photo by Nevin Ruttanaboonta on Unsplash.