County jails have become a costly point of entry into mental health care for people who often received too little help before a crisis. By the time someone reaches a courtroom, untreated illness may be compounded by homelessness, substance use, repeated emergency calls and low-level offenses. The result is a cycle that is hard on families, expensive for taxpayers and unsafe for the public.
The problem is not solved by pretending that mental illness excuses dangerous conduct. It does not. When a person presents a genuine threat or commits a serious violent offense, prosecutors must respond to the evidence and protect the community. But when the conduct is low-level, nonviolent and driven by an untreated condition, repeatedly sending the person through jail without a treatment plan often returns the same problem to the street in worse condition.
“Mental illness is not a crime, and a jail cell is not a treatment plan,” said Reed. “When someone’s conduct threatens public safety, we must respond—but cycling people through jail without treating the illness driving that conduct is not accountability. It is a guarantee that the same crisis will return.”
Texas officials have acknowledged the scale of the failure. The San Antonio Express-News quoted Bexar County Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores saying, “In the state of Texas, our jails are the number one providers of mental health services.” That is not a role jails were designed to fill, and it is not a sustainable public-safety strategy.
The Dallas County district attorney does not run the jail or the public mental health system. The office does, however, make decisions that determine who enters the system, how quickly a case moves and whether an appropriate treatment-based alternative is considered. Those decisions should begin with early case screening—not after months of incarceration and further mental decline.
As district attorney, Reed would direct prosecutors to identify eligible cases involving apparent mental illness as early as possible and coordinate with defense counsel, courts, pretrial services, behavioral-health providers and law enforcement.
When the law and the facts allow, the office should support structured diversion or specialty-court options that require treatment, supervision and measurable compliance.
Additionally, diversion should be matched to risk; it should never be used to minimize serious violence or disregard a victim’s safety.
Competency cases demand particular attention. A person who cannot understand the proceedings cannot move through a criminal case in the ordinary way. The office should track these cases, press for timely evaluations and work with system partners to reduce avoidable gaps in restoration and treatment.
Continuity matters as well. Treatment begun in custody can collapse at release if a person leaves without medication, follow up treatment or a realistic plan. Although the District Attorney’s Office cannot provide medical care, it can help build case resolutions that connect supervision requirements with available community services and encourage information-sharing that is lawful, limited and useful.
“We cannot keep using jail as the default answer to untreated mental illness,” said Reed. “When someone is dangerous, the public must be protected. But when illness is driving the conduct and we refuse to address it, sending that person back into the community without treatment only sets the stage for another crisis.”
About Eric Reed for District Attorney:
Eric Reed is a Dallas trial attorney and former prosecutor with more than three decades of experience in criminal law, federal and tribal courts, and complex litigation. He is running as a write-in candidate for Dallas County District Attorney on a commitment to Promote Public Safety • Demand Fairness • Ensure Accountability.
To vote for Eric Reed, select the write-in option in the Dallas County District Attorney race and enter the name Eric Reed.
For more information, visit www.WriteinReed.com.
Media Contact:
media@writeinreed.com
-30-