Taylor Swift's ordeal with a creepy stalker sparks a New York state initiative to track down mentally ill defendants in minor cases and help them receive treatment in hopes of making them less likely to be arrested again. influenced the bill.
The proposal, supported by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and sponsored in Albany by Democratic lawmakers from Manhattan and Queens, would result in hundreds of misdemeanor offenders each year having their cases thrown out because they are deemed “unfit” to stand trial. The aim is to close the loophole of self-defense when dealing with legal matters. .
Currently, these people charged with crimes such as third-degree assault, aggravated harassment, and trespassing are automatically arraigned and released from the psychiatric hospital where they were being held within three days.
The new bill would place caseworkers in the state's Department of Mental Health Services to assist with post-release treatment, including regular visits to defendants' homes and communities, and to provide referrals for defendants to the hospital from which they were released. The content is mandatory. .
The so-called “support law” aims to reduce reoffending, reduce the likelihood that the person will be charged with another crime, and lower the risk of them becoming victims of crime themselves, the prosecutor's office said.
“Defying logic, our law means that hundreds of people found unfit to stand trial by mental health professionals have their cases dismissed and are denied potentially life-saving treatment. They are being sent back to our communities without the means they need to receive treatment,” said Bragg, a Democrat. said in a statement.
The new bill will “ensure that these people have access to robust services and are fully supported, giving them a much better chance of remaining stable and reducing their chances of reoffending,” the Crown Prosecution Service said. added.
The bill comes months after Bragg's office accused Seattle law student David Crowe, 33, of having a serial killer lurking outside Swift's Manhattan apartment. Crowe was released by a judge in January 2024, but was found an hour later rummaging through a trash can near his home.
The misdemeanor case was then dismissed the following month because Crowe was determined to be mentally unfit to stand trial.
However, unusually, instead of being released from custody, Crowe was sent to upstate New York for further treatment, as it was recognized that he would likely have returned to the outside of the superstar's home without further intervention. was transferred to a hospital.
A spokeswoman for the DA's office said Crowe's case highlights the possibility of another path for defendants who are scheduled to be released but still need help.
In 2024, 224 misdemeanor cases were dismissed for defendants deemed incompetent, and in 2023, 274 such cases were dismissed, prosecutors said.
According to the bureau, requests for the so-called “730 exam,'' a court-ordered evaluation of whether a defendant is fit to stand trial, have also increased.
As of June 2024, these test requests have increased 16.5% year over year, according to Bragg's office.
It was not immediately known whether Crowe was still being treated at the hospital.
The state Department of Mental Health declined to comment, citing patient confidentiality, and the Department of Corrections said Crowe has not been in custody since his release in February 2024.
At the time, Crowe's attorney, Katherine Bajuk of the New York City public defender's office, said her office was no longer representing Crowe and could not share confidential information about his treatment. But Bajuk said NYCDS supports the new bill.
It was not immediately clear whether Crowe had a new lawyer.
The bill applies only to defendants in misdemeanor cases. That's because, under state law, defendants found unfit to stand trial in felony cases cannot be committed to a psychiatric hospital unless or until a doctor determines they are fit again. This is because they are forced to do so.
The bill's sponsors in Albany are Sen. Brad Hoylman Segal (D-Manhattan) and Rep. Tony Simone (D-Queens).
“There are far too many people struggling with mental illness on the streets and subways of New York City,” Hoylman-Segal said in a statement. “If we are serious about addressing this issue, we must focus on getting people with severe mental illness the support they need.”
