Hundreds of mentally ill people are routinely trapped on Rikers Island for months at a time without court-ordered treatment they need to stand trial, a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday afternoon by the city’s largest public defender organization charges.
The New York State Office of Mental Health and top city jail officials repeatedly flout judges’ orders to provide “competency restoration” — psychiatric treatment and legal education meant to help defendants understand their cases, the 73-page lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court alleges.
In February, THE CITY reported at least 127 people found by psychiatrists to be unfit to stand trial were languishing in Rikers jails because of a lack of space at state-run mental health facilities…