Julie Van Orden
This is a case that is very familiar in the area in which I currently live although I did not live here when the crime occurred. I found it interesting that it was yesterday that I did the research on it, it was the next one on my list, since it was announced in the news that Vanderburgh County, where this occurred, had just officially had their “Mental Health Court” certified. As someone who has had to deal with the mental health system here in Indiana I am excited to see this. While strides in this area are slow it seems this is a step forward. This special court was created because there had been a lot of talk about how so many of the criminals who were put into the jail and prison system were mentally ill and not only were they a danger to others, they were not getting the treatment they needed. Decades ago we were still putting the mental ill, at least those that the public, including families, were forced to acknowledge, into mental facilities and all but abandon...