Judge Steven Leifman

While I was there, there was a group of advocates touring the facility, and they found out that there was a representative from a legislator's office, albeit a 17-year-old who had no knowledge and no power. But they insisted I take a tour of the facility. They brought me downstairs to what looked like a dungeon. It was like a jail cell. And I found these seven men.

lying in their own feces while a guard, they were naked, and a guard stood there with a hose and washed them down like they were animals in a zoo. It was pretty traumatizing and pretty horrific. And while I did not have much authority to help them, I was able, with the help of the senator, to get the young man out of the hospital.

lying in their own feces while a guard, they were naked, and a guard stood there with a hose and washed them down like they were animals in a zoo. It was pretty traumatizing and pretty horrific. And while I did not have much authority to help them, I was able, with the help of the senator, to get the young man out of the hospital.

lying in their own feces while a guard, they were naked, and a guard stood there with a hose and washed them down like they were animals in a zoo. It was pretty traumatizing and pretty horrific. And while I did not have much authority to help them, I was able, with the help of the senator, to get the young man out of the hospital.

And we got him placed in a really wonderful, amazing adult living facility for other young men with autism. And he was very well cared for after that.

And we got him placed in a really wonderful, amazing adult living facility for other young men with autism. And he was very well cared for after that.

And we got him placed in a really wonderful, amazing adult living facility for other young men with autism. And he was very well cared for after that.

It left a pretty indelible mark on me. About 17 years later, I got appointed to the bench. And ironically, that hospital that I had been at 17 years earlier was closed. The jail across the street from me started to become the psychiatric facility for our community. So those same folks or type of folks that had been in the state hospital, they got released to the streets without services.

It left a pretty indelible mark on me. About 17 years later, I got appointed to the bench. And ironically, that hospital that I had been at 17 years earlier was closed. The jail across the street from me started to become the psychiatric facility for our community. So those same folks or type of folks that had been in the state hospital, they got released to the streets without services.

It left a pretty indelible mark on me. About 17 years later, I got appointed to the bench. And ironically, that hospital that I had been at 17 years earlier was closed. The jail across the street from me started to become the psychiatric facility for our community. So those same folks or type of folks that had been in the state hospital, they got released to the streets without services.

And many of them ended up in the criminal justice system. In 1955, there were about, maybe we estimate 5,000 people with serious mental illnesses in state hospitals. There were about, excuse me, in jail, there were about 550,000 at that time in state hospitals. Today, there's less than 30,000 civil psychiatric beds in this country.

And many of them ended up in the criminal justice system. In 1955, there were about, maybe we estimate 5,000 people with serious mental illnesses in state hospitals. There were about, excuse me, in jail, there were about 550,000 at that time in state hospitals. Today, there's less than 30,000 civil psychiatric beds in this country.

And many of them ended up in the criminal justice system. In 1955, there were about, maybe we estimate 5,000 people with serious mental illnesses in state hospitals. There were about, excuse me, in jail, there were about 550,000 at that time in state hospitals. Today, there's less than 30,000 civil psychiatric beds in this country.

And last year, we had about 1.5 million people with serious mental illnesses arrested and about 2 million incidents. And so we never deinstitutionalized. What we really did is we transferred responsibility from these really terrible, crappy, horrible state hospitals to these really terrible, crappy jails.

And last year, we had about 1.5 million people with serious mental illnesses arrested and about 2 million incidents. And so we never deinstitutionalized. What we really did is we transferred responsibility from these really terrible, crappy, horrible state hospitals to these really terrible, crappy jails.

And last year, we had about 1.5 million people with serious mental illnesses arrested and about 2 million incidents. And so we never deinstitutionalized. What we really did is we transferred responsibility from these really terrible, crappy, horrible state hospitals to these really terrible, crappy jails.

And the problem is in some ways it's worse because now you end up with a criminal record and it's harder to get housing and it's harder to get employment.

And the problem is in some ways it's worse because now you end up with a criminal record and it's harder to get housing and it's harder to get employment.

And the problem is in some ways it's worse because now you end up with a criminal record and it's harder to get housing and it's harder to get employment.

When I got assigned to the criminal division, I ended up having a case. This is the second part of my story. I was getting ready to go on the bench one morning, and the assistant public defender and the assistant state attorney came to see me. And they said that there was a case that was really mind-boggling on my docket.