Opinion: CT criminal justice system fails those with mental health conditions
Our criminal justice system continues to fail people living with mental health conditions. Just last week, Time profiled Michael Ledford, an autistic man who was accused of setting fire to his own home in October 1999, which resulted in the death of his 1-year-old son and the severe burning of his then-wife. He confessed to the crime during a lengthy interrogation in which police employed manipulative tactics to compel him to say what they needed to hear. Years later, it was proven through forensic evidence that the scenario he described in his “confession” scientifically couldn’t be true; yet it’s still sufficient to deprive him of his freedom.