The Lawsuit Challenging How Missouri Treats People with Mental Illness Being Held Pre-Trial w/Maureen Hanlon and Anita Tabb

Apr 25

Today, Hunter was joined by Maureen Hanlon and Anita Tabb, two people fighting to change how Missouri treats people with mental illness in the states jails and prisons. Under Missouri law, a person who is found incompetent to stand trial is to have a competency evaluation conducted within 60 days of the court ordering it. Yet, people are often waiting 6 months just to be evaluated, and on average, people are spending 14 months in custody before they get the mental healthcare they are owed. Today, we are talking about the lawsuit aiming to change this practice.

Guest:

Maureen Hanlon, Attorney, Arch City Defenders

Anita Tabb, Nurse and Mother of M, a Class Member in this class action law suit

Resources:

Read More About the Suit Here

https://www.macarthurjustice.org/advocates-sue-missouri-department-of-mental-health-for-failing-to-treat-pretrial-detainees-living-with-mental-illness-and-disabilities/

https://www.macarthurjustice.org/advocates-seek-preliminary-injunction-to-order-dmh-to-remedy-harms-caused-by-egregious-competency-waitlist/

https://missouriindependent.com/2026/02/05/more-than-500-missourians-await-court-ordered-mental-health-services-languishing-in-jails/

https://www.macarthurjustice.org/case/darrington-et-al-v-missouri-dmh/

Learn More About Arch City Defenders Here

https://www.archcitydefenders.org/

Contact Hunter Parnell: