How Problems at the State Mental Health Hospital Are Destroying Colorado's Justice System
While Boulder County discussed the mental competency of the King Soopers shooter for two days in late September, roughly 450 people were locked up in county jails who aren't supposed to be there — waiting to be transported to the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo for inpatient competency services.
In Denver alone, 112 individuals (both male and female) who have been found incompetent to proceed with their criminal cases are behind bars pending admission to the state hospital, according to the Denver Sheriff Department. Another 39 are waiting for their initial competency evaluations.
Arapahoe County says it has 49 offenders awaiting transport for restoration services; over a dozen have been waiting for six months or more. Fourteen others are awaiting evaluations.
