KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Repeated delays in two-high profile court cases are blamed on pending mental health evaluations.
One case involves Fredrick Scott, the man accused of multiple killings along the Indian Creek Trail.
In the second case, the defendant, Andrew Lester, is charged with shooting a teenage boy in the head when the teen went to the wrong house looking for his siblings.
We learned earlier this week Lester's trial in the shooting of Ralph Yarl was suspended pending a mental health evaluation.
A hearing is set for October 8th to check on the status of that exam.
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As we've seen in the case of Fredrick Scott, there's no guarantee Lester's exam will be done by October 8th.
Even if the exam is completed, the issue of competency isn't always as cut and dried as it might seem.
For example, Scott was arrested about seven years ago and charged with shooting and killing six people.
Despite all the time that has passed, he still hasn't gone to trial.
That's primarily because of questions about Scott's mental competency.
A judge in July suspended the case and committed Scott to the Missouri Department of Mental Health.
However, a month later, Scott had not been evaluated or moved from the Jackson Detention Center into a state mental health hospital.
The move from the jail to a mental health hospital is something his defense attorney and prosecutors
agree on.
KSHB 41 reached out to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), an organization that advocates for quality mental health treatment for people who are incarcerated.
While the group's director couldn't comment on Scott's case, she did say she wasn't surprised to hear about someone waiting that long because of the inability to get their mental health stabilized.
"Absolutely not," NAMI Director Shannon Scully. "We hear these stories all the time. And we hear from advocates that there are people who can't get into hospital-based care, have some very serious mental health conditions, and aren't getting the care they need inside the facilities."
Scully said that's because jails and prisons weren't built to be mental health facilities.
"They're set up as a means of punishment, as more of a controlled setting, as opposed to a hospital that might treat psychiatric conditions, which is set up to be much more therapeutic," Scully said.
Her organization advocates for community-based care when those with minor offenses can be released on bond and get outside mental health help.
She said inpatient services might be needed for people accused of more serious offenses who need more intense therapy.
The problem right now in Missouri is the lack of beds at state mental health facilities.
The Department of Mental Health in Missouri confirmed they have 353 people who are waiting for admission per court orders to Division of Behavioral Health hospitals and competency restoration services.
The average wait time is 12 months because all of Missouri's inpatient facilities are currently at capacity.
A representative for the Department of Mental Health tells us staffing is a problem because of high turnover rates.
When it comes to vacancies within the Missouri Division of Mental Health's Division of Behavioral Health, that department currently reports 71% for social workers, 43% for psychologists, and 45% for psychiatrists.
Experts tell KSHB 41 if people in custody don't get the care they need to manage mental health conditions, this can delay trials, and that can leave victims and their families waiting for justice and some closure.
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