Kansas agrees to increase hospital beds for mentally ill defendants
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 [November 20, 2024]
By JOHN HANNA
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has promised to provide more hospital beds
for mentally ill criminal defendants to settle a federal lawsuit filed
over defendants waiting months for evaluations of whether they were fit
for a trial.
The agreement between state officials and representatives of five
defendants requires the state to “use its best efforts” to open a new
psychiatric hospital by January 2027 in Wichita, the state's largest
city. Officials also must seek funding from the Kansas Legislature to
reopen a previously closed 30-bed unit at its psychiatric hospital in
Larned in western Kansas, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) northwest of
Wichita.
The agreement was announced this week by the two groups pursuing the
lawsuit, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and the National
Police Accountability Project, based in the Seattle area. The groups
sued in 2022 on behalf of attorneys for four defendants and the mother
of a fifth. The accused were identified only by their initials.
The state operates two psychiatric hospitals, but only the one in Larned
has a unit for evaluating whether mentally ill criminal defendants can
understand their cases and participate in their own defense. Since the
COVID-19 pandemic, Larned State Hospital has had fewer than 80 beds for
defendants awaiting evaluation.
The state Department for Aging and Disability Services, which runs the
Larned facility, acknowledged before the lawsuit was filed that
defendants were waiting an average of about 11 months to be evaluated.
The lawsuit said defendants remained in county jails that weren't
providing adequate treatment, making the inmates' conditions worse and
violating their rights. The lawsuit also said the state was violating
the federal Americans with Disabilities Act by discriminating against
people with mental health problems.
“This settlement is more than a legal agreement; it’s a lifeline for
those who have been lost in the system, a promise that their dignity and
humanity will no longer be ignored,” said Lauren Bonds, the police
accountability group's executive director.
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A directory stands at the entrance to Larned State Hospital, in
Larned, Kan., in Nov. 2013. (Thad Allton/Topeka Capital-Journal via
AP, File)
 One of the five defendants covered
by the lawsuit had been held in a county jail for 13 months facing
criminal threat charges when the lawsuit was filed. That's longer
than the maximum prison sentence for a conviction on that charge.
“Remaining in the jail environment is devastating and deeply harmful
even for those whose mental health is not in question, and
condemning Kansans to languish across the state in their county
jails was contradictory to our values of justice," said Monica
Bennett, the ACLU of Kansas' legal director.
State officials argued that they already had been addressing the
long waits. The state began having Larned State Hospital officials
operate a mobile evaluation unit in 2019; and in 2022, the
Legislature passed a law to allow other qualified hospitals and
organizations to examine criminal defendants.
The state and Wichita's home county hope to start construction early
next year on a secure, $101.5 million psychiatric hospital with 104
beds, half of them set aside for the state. Federal COVID-19 relief
dollars provided part of the funding.
KDADS spokesperson Cara Sloan-Ramos said the department and Gov.
Laura Kelly are committed to reducing wait times.
Republican state Rep. Stephen Owens, chair of the House committee
handling criminal justice issues, was pleased that the state could
settle the lawsuit.
“We’ve certainly been aware of this issue and have been working on
solutions," Owens said Tuesday.
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