Taylor Swifts ordeal with stalker sparks NY bill to track mentally ill after theyre found unfit for trial and set free

Taylor Swift’s ordeal with a creepy stalker has inspired a New York state bill that would track mentally ill defendants in low-level cases and help them get treatment — in hopes that they’ll be less likely to be busted again.The proposal backed by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and sponsored in Albany by Democrats from Manhattan and Queens aims to close a loophole that each year sends hundreds of misdemeanor offenders to fend for themselves when their cases are tossed after they are found “unfit” for trial.As of now, such people — who are accused of crimes like third-degree assault, aggravated harassment and trespassing — automatically get their cases thrown out, and are released from the psychiatric hospitals they were held in within three days.The new bill would assign case workers with the state’s Office of Mental Health Services to help get those defendants treatment after their release — including by regularly visiting them at home or in their community — and would require the hospital that releases them to make referrals for them.The so-called “SUPPORT Act” aims to reduce recidivism, or the likelihood the person will be charged with another crime, and lower the risk of them being victimized by a crime themselves, the DA’s office said.“Defying logic, our laws dictate that hundreds of people who are found unfit to stand trial by mental health professionals have their cases dismissed and are sent back to our communities without the necessary tools to access potentially life-saving treatment,” Bragg, a Democrat, said in a statement.The new bill would “ensure these individuals are able to access robust services and are supported throughout, giving them a much better chance at lasting stability and decreasing the likelihood that they reoffend,” the DA added.The legislation comes months after Bragg’s office charged David Crowe, a 33-year-old Seattle law student, with serial lurking outside of Swift’s Manhattan apartment....