Steve Anthony: True Canadian Pharmacy

p The mental health court, to sit once a week in Dartmouth starting Nov. Nova Scotia’s special court designed for people with mental illness who come into conflict with the law will open this fall. Judith McPhee, the chair of the government committee that helped create the court, said people who appear before a judge in the Halifax region may request that their case be moved to this new court. 2, will divert some people away from the criminal justice !–more– system and into treatment programs. Landry said this won’t be an easier ride for anyone. Hopefully we’ll start to collect those cases.
Provincial court Judge Bill MacDonald will hear the cases recommended by a mental-health court team, including mental-health clinicians and lawyers. This is about accountability, both to the individual and to the system, and I think that that’s critical to know, he said. Attorney General and Justice Minister Ross Landry said the court will examine the accused and their illnesses, not just their alleged crimes. Hyde died in jail about 30 hours after he was arrested for an alleged assault and stunned with a Taser during a struggle with Halifax police at the station. There are people out there who have fallen through the gaps in the process or the cracks in the floor, Landry said. The defence, Crown or police may also suggest cases, McPhee said. The provincial justice system’s handling of the mentally ill has been scrutinized during an inquiry into the 2007 death of Howard Hyde, a schizophrenic.

br /br /cbc.ca