In our Reality Check stories, Idaho Statesman journalists seek to hold the powerful accountable and find answers to critical questions in our community. Read more. Story idea? [email protected].
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare has tried for months to find a Boise man — accused of stabbing his roommate to death — competent enough to stand trial for his first-degree murder charge. Instead, the 35-year-old now could be going to prison without a criminal conviction.
That’s because under state law, someone with a severe mental illness and a history of violence can be transferred to a more secure facility for psychiatric care, which in Idaho’s case is housed at its maximum-security prison…