Kansas agrees to increase hospital beds for mentally ill defendants
TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas has pledged to provide more hospital beds mentally ill criminal suspects to settle a federal lawsuit filed because defendants waited months for evaluations of their suitability for trial.
The agreement between state officials and representatives of five defendants requires the state to “do its utmost” to open a new psychiatric hospital by January 2027 in Wichita, the state’s largest city. Officials must also seek funding from the Kansas Legislature to reopen a previously closed 30-bed unit at the psychiatric hospital in Larned in western Kansas, about 129 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 filed suit on behalf of attorneys in 2022 for four defendants and the mother of a fifth. The suspects could only be identified by their initials.
The state operates two psychiatric hospitals, but only the one in Larned has a unit that assesses whether mentally ill criminal defendants can understand their cases and participate in their own defense. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Larned State Hospital had fewer than 80 beds for suspects awaiting evaluation.
The state Department for Aging and Disability Services, which operates the Larned facility, acknowledged before the lawsuit was filed that defendants waited an average of about 11 months for evaluation. The suspects remained in county jails, according to the lawsuit did not provide adequate treatmentdeteriorating prisoners’ conditions and violating their rights. The lawsuit also alleged that the state violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act by discriminating against people with mental health issues.
“This settlement is more than a legal agreement; it is a lifeline for those lost in the system, a promise that their dignity and humanity will no longer be ignored,” said Lauren Bonds, executive director of the police accountability group.
One of the five defendants involved in the lawsuit had already been in a provincial jail for thirteen months at the time the lawsuit was filed, where he was charged with criminal threatening. That is longer than the maximum prison sentence for a conviction on this charge.
“Remaining incarcerated is devastating and deeply harmful, even for those whose mental health is not at risk, and condemning Kansans to languish in state prisons was contrary to our values of justice,” said Monica Bennett, the ACLU of Kansas Legal Director.
State officials argued they were already anticipating the long wait. The state began letting Larned State Hospital officials operate a mobile assessment unit in 2019; and in 2022, the Legislature passed a law allowing other qualified hospitals and organizations to investigate criminal defendants.
The state and its home county of Wichita hope to begin construction early next year on a $101.5 million secure psychiatric hospital with 104 beds, half of which will be reserved for the state. Federal COVID-19 relief dollars provided some of the funding.
KDADS spokesperson Cara Sloan-Ramos said the department and Governor Laura Kelly are committed to reducing wait times.
Republican state Rep. Stephen Owens, chairman of the committee that handles criminal justice issues, was pleased the state was able to settle the lawsuit.
“We are certainly aware of this issue and have been working on solutions,” Owens said Tuesday.