Cornyn touts legislation designed to save mentally ill from jails

Oct. 12--The senior senator from Texas visited Austin on Monday to promote a measure that increases treatment for the mentally ill who end up in the criminal justice system.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn touted the recently filed legislation in a roundtable discussion with members of local law enforcement and the mental health community.

Cornyn's Mental Health and Safe Communities Act, which was introduced in August, is now being considered in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"I'm not suggesting that this legislation I've offered is a panacea and that all the problems will go away; I am saying this is a good faith effort to try to offer a solution," Cornyn said.

A companion bill has been filed in the U.S. House, and Cornyn said he will work on building bipartisan support once the Senate is back in session. The bill already has the endorsements of the National Rifle Association and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Cornyn addressed mass shootings several times, remarking that the recent shooting in Oregon and the Newtown, Conn., shooting may have been prevented if the shooters were under treatment. The former Texas attorney general said his legislation would help keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill but that guns were not the problem.

One of the bill's goals is to use federal grant money to cut the number of mentally ill inmates with pretrial diversion efforts such as mental health courts and other local programs focused on treatment. Cornyn said about $200 million of existing Justice Department grants would be used.

Travis County Sheriff Greg Hamilton was one of the participants at the roundtable discussion. Hamilton said that about 30 percent of inmates -- as many as 650 people -- in the Travis County jail system are undergoing some sort of treatment for mental health issues. And the number is growing, Hamilton said.

"Some individuals have been slipping through the cracks," Hamilton said of the county's inmate intake system. "Once we bring on more individuals to assist us as far as screening, I think we are going to find that the number is going to continue to go up."

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