Educational Media Reviews Online

Therapeutic Justice (TJ) is a new approach to dealing with the mentally ill in the U.S. justice system. According to recent statistics, almost 85% of the people currently held in jail are there either for substance abuse problems or mental health problems. Judge Ginger Lerner-Wren of the Fort Lauderdale, Florida criminal justice system, has established the first Mental Health court in the United States. People who suffer from severe mental disorders and come before the criminal justice system there are separated from the general criminal population, go through the Mental Health court, and are given special attention, including referrals to housing, rehabilitation, and therapy. Judge Lerner-Wren considers the way that mentally-ill people are processed through the criminal justice system a serious human rights violation and quotes, "People who are ill should be with doctors, not with jailers." The film shows the Mental Health court in session, as well as interviews with mental health patients, various criminal justice and mental health professionals, and Judge Lerner-Wren herself. Introducing TJ is a case study about approaching the problems of mental health within the U.S. criminal justice system. Whether or not it will be imitated across the country has yet to be determined.