Competency Process Testimony, September 2025

 

Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I have been a resident of Colorado for 36 years, a taxpayer, homeowner and registered voter. Most valued, I am the mother of two adult sons. My oldest lives with Severe Brain Illness and Associated Disabilities. His situation is current; he has been living through Colorado's Competency to Proceed System for the last ten months. 

 

James is age 27.  During his early childhood, he was kind, attentive and capable. In his early teens, he began to retreat from the world and into one of his own. I learned that this was the Prodromal phase of  James’ brain illness. Our family struggled with many difficult and challenging situations, until finally in  2020, James was admitted for his first in-patient psychiatric hospitalization.   

 

In the following years, my son cycled in and out of five hospitalizations and community based care for catatonia, psychosis, schizophrenia, bi-polar, autism spectrum, and other psychosis diagnoses. On  December 10, 2024, while unmedicated and in psychosis, James was arrested on a misdemeanor assault charge. He was incarcerated at the Jefferson County Detention Center and held there.  A month later, in  January 2025, the courts found him incompetent, Tier 1.  James remained in jail after being declared incompetent and spent 125 days at the detention center, as a Tier 1, before being transferred to the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo for restoration on April 10, 2025. As of today, James remains on a voluntary commitment at Pueblo. He is severely debilitated by his mental health challenges; he responds to yes or no type questions, but anything more complex is likely to be answered with silence. In light of my adult son's precarious situation, I filed a Guardianship Petition with the courts in January 2025 with a hearing scheduled later this month.
 

James, like many of the severely mentally ill, has anosognosia. Anosognosia is a biological condition that  prevents some people with Severe Mental Illness from knowing that they are experiencing symptoms of a brain disorder. For James, anosognosia meant he did not realize he was ill, and this was one reason he did not seek out or maintain treatment.  

 

For over a decade, our family attempted to get our loved one medication compliant. Our family was forced into the criminal justice system to receive mental health treatment through the Colorado Competency to Proceed System because sometimes individuals who suffer from untreated psychosis become violent. The cost of not treating SMI is staggering--to the dignity of life, emotionally and financially. My son is among the sickest in this state. Our hope is that James can transfer to a Mental Health Transitional Living Home within the CO Department of Human Services. His story is ongoing...

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To conclude, 

1) Those suffering SMI should not be jailed. While incarcerated, a person in psychosis  is subjected to worsening illness and abusive and restrictive housing. While untreated, a person's brain is damaged along with their circumstances. 
 

2) The Forensic Bed Shortage in Colorado State Hospitals must be addressed. Most offenders with SMI never get to restoration because of a forensic hospital bed shortage. When an offender "times out of restoration," where do they go? 

 

3) Competency Restoration is Not Treatment, but part of the legal process. Treatment is needed. Treatment for Severe Mental Illness is life long, including the ability to transition up and down to various levels of care. Funding and resources are needed for involuntary medications during crisis, accountability for responsible discharge and outcomes, supportive housing options, AOT programs and state hospital beds providing acute and long-term care.
 

Thank you for listening and acting on these lifesaving issues.