Our Florida County Learned How to Prevent Many Rearrests of Mentally Ill

One doesn’t have to look far to find documented reports on the problem of mentally ill residents around the nation cycling through the criminal justice system without the benefit of mental health treatment. According to the Treatment Advocacy Center, law enforcement and jails have become the nation’s default psychiatric crisis response system.

Tessa Majors: Bouquets against railing on wet sidewalk at night

Opponents of Raise the Age in New York Speak Out About Tessa Majors Murder

In 1978, a 15-year-old boy named Willie Bosket shot and killed two men in separate incidents, both of which involved robberies. Bosket pleaded guilty to both murders and was sentenced to five years in prison, the longest sentence allowed under state law at the time.

hospital: Man talks to 3 other people around table

How Hospitals Are Helping to Reduce Gun Violence

As a doctor in an emergency department that only sees children, I have the unfortunate experience of witnessing the impact of violence on our youngest members of society. Getting through adolescence is difficult enough, but for teens exposed to violence the transition to adulthood can be disrupted and even more difficult.

We Need to Examine Why Many People Released From Prison Then Die Quickly

I remember every collapsing sensation in my body when I received the phone call notifying me of his death. I was 22, he was 23 — my boyfriend had died in a freak hiking accident. His loss was devastating to all of us who loved him. His loss was also tragic for the communities he could have continued to contribute to. The future potential of this young man was never fully realized. But I take comfort knowing that up until my boyfriend’s death, he was living freely, wildly and pursuing his dreams.

gang database: Rear view of men wearing coats with NYPD Police on it

New York Activists, Academics Urge End to Gang Database

Taylonn Murphy’s phone chimed steadily as he addressed reporters gathered in a boardroom Thursday. His friends were concerned. The previous night, Tessa Majors, an 18-year-old freshman at Barnard College, was fatally stabbed in a Harlem park by would-be robbers, police said.