Sacramento Bee: Woman who lost mental care to Sacramento County cuts still in jail after arrest

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Woman who lost mental care to Sacramento County cuts still in jail after arrest

By Cynthia Hubert
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Published: Tuesday, Jul. 13, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1B


Tracy Sinclair Feather felt the shock of an electric Taser, and then a wave of relief, on the May afternoon that she scuffled with police at her midtown home, she told a Superior Court judge Monday.

"I felt it go in me, and it shocked me bad," the former county mental patient said tearfully during a hearing before Judge Michael Garcia. "I dropped to the ground. I thought, 'Maybe they'll help me now.' "

Instead Feather, who called the police that day to report that she was suicidal and emerged from her home with a knife, was arrested and taken to jail on charges of assaulting a police officer. Six weeks later, Feather remains behind bars, a scenario that police say is becoming more common as the effects of deep cuts in county mental health services take hold.

Feather's lawyer, Dennise Henderson, told the judge that her client has twice attempted suicide in jail and asked that she be released to her mother's home or a mental facility. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.sacbee.com/2010/07/13/2885905/more-mentally-ill-end-up-in-jail.html#ixzz0tZJ3JpFU