How some police, attorneys, and jails are trying to help Pa s ailing system for mentally ill people bctv.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bctv.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Without a statewide solution, some local officials are finding ways to prevent people unfit to stand trial from getting trapped in the criminal justice system.
On today’s episode of The Confluence:A physical altercation between a striking Pittsburgh Post-Gazette worker and delivery driver for the paper sent one person to the hospital. We ask WESA’s Jillian Forstadt for the latest news on rising tensions between unionized workers still on strike and the paper. (0:00 - 6:55) A joint investigation found nearly 700 people in Pennsylvania have undergone competency proceedings to assess if they’re able to participate in their own defense. But Brittany Hailer from Pittsburgh Institute for Nonprofit Journalism and Danielle Ohl with Spotlight PA report a fractured system means those people, often with mental health issues, may spend more time behind bars than getting help, as the system intended. (7:06 - 17:11) Two Pittsburgh Public School students are headed to a national competition this summer to test their knowledge of African American history and culture. Both spent years preparing to qualify for it, thanks to a local event that’s both a
On today’s episode of The Confluence: Pennsylvania judges are now allowed to dismiss charges against defendants who would not be deemed competent to participate in their own trial, but there are still some flaws; a new book chronicles the rise of the Kaufmann family, which owned the department store of the same name in Pittsburgh; and outgoing Congressman Conor Lamb talks about what's next for him after his term ends in January. Today’s guests include: Danielle Ohl, investigative reporter with Spotlight PA; Laura Malt Schneiderman and Marylynne Pitz, co-authors of “Kaufmann's: The Family that Built Pittsburgh's Famed Department Store.”