Committed to Jail

How Mississippi Jails People for Mental Illness

In Mississippi, many people awaiting court-ordered treatment for mental illness or substance abuse are jailed, even though they haven’t been charged with a crime.

Impact of Our Reporting

Mississippi Lawmakers Move to Limit the Jail Detentions of People Awaiting Mental Health Treatment

by Kate Royals, Mississippi Today

May 13, 2024, 6:00 am EDT

Lawmakers Could Limit When County Officials in Mississippi Can Jail People Awaiting Psychiatric Treatment

by Isabelle Taft, Mississippi Today

March 1, 2024, 5:00 am EST

9 stories published since 2023

Is a New Mississippi Law Decreasing Jailings of People Awaiting Mental Health Treatment? The State Doesn’t Know.

by Gwen Dilworth, Mississippi Today

January 23, 2025, 5:00 am EST
This Mississippi Hospital Transfers Some Patients to Jail to Await Mental Health Treatment

by Isabelle Taft, Mississippi Today

May 28, 2024, 6:00 am EDT
5 Takeaways From Our Investigation Into How Mississippi Counties Jail People for Mental Illness

by Isabelle Taft, Mississippi Today

January 16, 2024, 5:00 am EST
Jailed for Their Own Safety, 14 Mississippians Died Awaiting Mental Health Treatment

by Isabelle Taft, Mississippi Today, and Mollie Simon, ProPublica

December 7, 2023, 6:00 am EST
Mississippi Jailed More Than 800 People Awaiting Psychiatric Treatment in a Year. Just One Jail Meets State Standards.

by Isabelle Taft, Mississippi Today

November 13, 2023, 5:00 am EST
Mississippi Remains an Outlier in Jailing People With Serious Mental Illness Without Charges

by Isabelle Taft, Mississippi Today, and Mollie Simon, ProPublica

July 27, 2023, 6:05 am EDT
Their Families Said They Needed Treatment. Mississippi Officials Threw Them in Jail Without Charges.

by Isabelle Taft, Mississippi Today, with data analysis by Agnel Philip, ProPublica, reporting by Mollie Simon, ProPublica

July 27, 2023, 6:00 am EDT