Jerry Grodin, a licensed psychiatrist and former president of the New York State Psychiatric Association, is often called on as an expert witness in forensic psychology in the Capital District. “The system is unprepared to deal with mental illness,” the expert says. The problem is that even when people are found to be mentally unstable, it is often not until they have worked their way through the system for a while. “The system does not screen for people who have a mental condition (early enough).”
Jill Daniels, spokesperson for the New York State Office of Mental Health says “there are close to 8,000 people in New York state who are receiving (mental health) treatment in state prisons.”
Read more: thesaratogian.