A new federal lawsuit claims Missouri is failing people with serious mental illness and disabilities who are stuck in jail waiting for trial.

Nearly 500 people are behind bars in Missouri awaiting an evaluation.

The suit, filed by three agencies including the ACLU of Missouri, says the State Department of Mental Health isn’t meeting its legal duty to provide timely treatment for those deemed incompetent to stand trial.

Gillian Wilcox, Director of Litigation at the ACLU of Missouri, told Missourinet that Missouri law requires competency evaluations to happen within 60 days of a court order.

“And that’s just simply not happening in this case,” said Wilcox. “You cannot leave a person on average for 14 months after they’ve been deemed incompetent before receiving any treatment.”

Wilcox to

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