Wisconsin’s criminal justice system is straining from a significant rise in the number of criminal defendants deemed unfit for trial due to mental illness.
Recent reporting by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigative data reporter Eva Wen found that the number of Wisconsin defendants deemed unfit for trial has nearly tripled since 2013. And the number of court-ordered competency evaluations for defendants has nearly doubled over the same period.
Mark Sanders is a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge for Branch 28, which primarily handles the county’s felony mental health docket. Sanders told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that several factors are driving the spike in felony mental health cases…