Kendra's Law

Kendra's Law is a New York State law concerning involuntary outpatient commitment and grants judges the authority to issue orders that require people receiving mental health services to take psychiatric drugs, regularly undergo psychiatric treatment, or both. Failure to comply could result in commitment for up to 72 hours.

Background

An assault by Julio Perez, age 43, caused the amputation of Edgar Rivera's legs. The assault by Andrew Goldstein, age 29, killed Kendra Webdale. Both men had been dismissed by psychiatric facilities with little or no medication. One of the men was homeless and the other had repeatedly sought a supervised living arrangement.

Two similar subway assaults occurred in the New York City subway in 1999. In each, a man diagnosed with schizophrenia pushed a person into the path of an oncoming train. Kendra's law, introduced by Governor George E. Pataki, was created as a response to these incidents. [McMan's Depression and Bipolar Web, "Kendra's Law", [http://www.mcmanweb.com/article-66.htm http://www.mcmanweb.com/article-66.htm] ] In 2005, the law was extended for 5 years. [New York Civil Liberties Union, "State Lawmakers Extend Kendra's Law For 5 Years, Despite Concerns That It Targets Men Of Color" [http://www.nyclu.org/aot_program_pr_062305.html http://www.nyclu.org/aot_program_pr_062305.html] ]

upport

E. Fuller Torrey, founder of the Treatment Advocacy Center, lobbied heavily in support of Kendra's Law.

Opposition

Kendra's law is opposed for different reasons by many groups, most notably the Anti-Psychiatry movement and the New York Civil Liberties Union. Opponents say that the law has harmed the mental health system, because it can scare patients away from seeking treatment. [NYCLU Testimony On Extending Kendra's Law

Finally, there are some who argue that had Andrew Goldstein been assigned early on -- before he had assaulted at least 13 women -- to the criminal justice system rather than the mental health system in New York, that he would have been incarcerated and unable to attack Kendra Webdale.

[http://www.nyclu.org/aot_program_tstmny_040805.html http://www.nyclu.org/aot_program_tstmny_040805.html] ] The implementation of the law is also criticized as being racially and socioeconomically biased. [New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Inc., "Implementation of Kendra's Law is Severely Biased" (April 7, 2005) [http://nylpi.org/pub/Kendras_Law_04-07-05.pdf http://nylpi.org/pub/Kendras_Law_04-07-05.pdf] (PDF)] [NYCLU Testimony On Extending Kendra's Law [http://www.nyclu.org/aot_program_tstmny_040805.html http://www.nyclu.org/aot_program_tstmny_040805.html] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.omh.state.ny.us/omhweb/Kendra_web/Ksummary.htm Summary of the law]
* [http://www.nyclu.org/aot_program_tstmny_040805.html NYCLU stance on the Law]
* [http://www.psychlaws.org/PressRoom/presskits/Kendra'sLawPressKit/kendraslawdoc1.htm Myths about Kendra's Law]
* [http://www.mhselfhelp.org/ National Mental Health Consumers' Self-Help Clearinghouse]
* [http://www.mcmanweb.com/article-66.htm Kendra's Law, Not Ours]

ee also

*Laura's Law