Mental Health and Criminal CasesWhen defendants with serious mental illness enter the criminal justice system, constitutional safeguards are often treated as formalities rather than meaningful limits.01/22/2026When defendants with serious mental illness enter the criminal justice system, constitutional safeguards are often treated as formalities rather than meaningful limits. The result is a system that lawfully prosecutes mental illness and consigns treatment to prisons never designed to provide it.By Kip CornwellResearch and InsightFacultyFacultycornwekicriminaljusticementalhhealthmurdernickreinersetonhalllaw