ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Charged with a crime, found incompetent, case dismissed, then accused of another crime. It’s a problem prosecutors say they’ve seen for years, but despite growing concerns about repeat offenders, New Mexico still hasn’t created another place for some of these defendants to go.
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Michael Buster Casey is another poster case for a problem New Mexico’s criminal justice system has struggled with for years. Last month, KRQE News 13 reported on Casey, a man repeatedly picked up for domestic violence and named as a suspect in a recent downtown attack. His past four cases ended with him being found incompetent.
“There’s definitely a population of people that kind of fall into that category where we see the same people over and over. And the reality is they’re suffering from mental illness that’s not being addressed,” said Bernalillo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Greer Staley…