PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Facing what they called a failure in Oregon’s mental health system, the district attorneys from the state’s three largest counties issued a warning Monday about a growing mental health and public safety crisis.
Multnomah County District Attorney Nathan Vasquez joined Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth and Washington County District Attorney Kevin Barton at a press conference Monday morning to call for changes to a recent federal court order governing Oregon State Hospital admissions and competency restoration.
They specifically criticized recent federal court rulings in the long-running Mink/Bowman case, saying the restrictions on state hospital admissions could have significant impacts on public safety, victims’ rights, and the criminal justice system.
The Oregon State Hospital provides competency restoration treatment for criminal defendants who are found unable to “aid and assist” in their own defense because of mental illness or another qualifying condition.
Once restored to competency, those defendants can move forward through the criminal justice process.
A June 1 federal court order further limited which defendants are eligible for admission to the Oregon State Hospital and restricted how long some patients can remain there for treatment.
The new order prevents defendants charged with certain lower-level felonies that do not involve crimes against a person, as well as those facing certain misdemeanor charges, from being admitted to the Oregon State Hospital.
It also limits the circumstances under which patients can receive extensions to their stays.
Prosecutors argue those changes could result in more defendants being released or having their criminal cases dismissed before they are restored to competency.
The prosecutors are asking Governor Tina Kotek, the Oregon Health Authority, and Oregon State Hospital leadership to push for changes to the federal court order, increase psychiatric bed capacity statewide, and expand access to mental health treatment programs.
“When this system failure makes headlines, such as the burning of a popular deli or the attempted fire-bombing of an athletic club, it receives attention and generates awareness,” a letter from the three DAs said. “Sadly, that attention and awareness have not resulted in meaningful improvement. As a result, Oregonians remain stuck with a broken system.”
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The district attorneys used Monday’s press conference to describe how they say those issues are already affecting criminal cases across Oregon.
Vasquez said his office had a case dismissed the morning of the press conference involving a defendant with three pending criminal matters because the individual could not receive competency restoration treatment.
“Sadly, our result is that those cases are getting dismissed; instead of getting hospital-level care, they’re getting turned out back on the streets,” said Vasquez.
He argued that the state needs to invest not only in Oregon State Hospital, but also in community-based services to address the broader mental health crisis.
“We need more help from the governor, we need more help from the state legislature, and the Oregon State Hospital system needs additional resources. Community-based mental health needs more resources,” said Vasquez.
DA Wentworth said the underlying problem is that Oregon has allowed the federal court to take the lead in shaping the state’s mental health system instead of developing its own long-term solution.
“Folks are looking to the federal court to make a decision about what the mental health system in Oregon should do, can do, and that’s wrong. This, the responsibility of doing this work, falls on the Governor. It falls on the state hospital. It falls on the legislature,” said Wentworth.
The prosecutors also criticized what they described as the state’s lack of engagement in the issue.
“We have not received a response. It’s been silent ever since,” said Wentworth when asked whether the Governor’s office had responded to the Oregon District Attorneys Association’s March 24 letter urging action on the issue.
DA Barton said the June 1 order does more than limit access to treatment; he believes it could fundamentally change how prosecutors can pursue criminal cases.
“It limits dramatically who may go to the state hospital to receive treatment and how long they may receive that treatment. If they’re allowed to go, there’s no other way to describe it other than decriminalization,” said Barton.
Barton warned that the shorter treatment timelines could have serious consequences for defendants who remain incompetent after exhausting their time at the state hospital.
“We literally will have mentally ill murderers on the street, and that is a problem,” said Barton.
He urged state officials to become more active in the federal litigation rather than remaining neutral.
“The state needs to weigh in and take a position and provide advice to this federal court, so it can do the right thing and not the wrong thing that it’s been doing,” said Barton
The district attorneys also expanded on what they believe a solution should look like, emphasizing that simply adding beds at Oregon State Hospital is not enough.
They called for increased psychiatric capacity throughout the state, expanded diversion programs, additional community treatment options, and greater investment in behavioral health resources before people enter the criminal justice system.
The June 1 federal court order is expected to be revisited later this month, and the prosecutors are urging state leaders to intervene before then.
They warn that without action, more defendants unable to assist could see their cases dismissed without receiving treatment.
Under Oregon law, if a defendant cannot be restored to competency within certain legal timeframes, prosecutors may be forced to dismiss the criminal case.
“We’re appealing to the public and to the state, and we’re appealing to them to raise awareness on this issue, and asking the state to weigh in and take a position and advocate for public safety in the federal court process,” said Barton.
Oregon Health Authority and Oregon State Hospital officials defended their approach, arguing the focus should be on expanding treatment options in the community rather than relying solely on the state hospital.
In a statement to KATU, OHA said the state remains under a federal court order requiring the Oregon State Hospital to admit defendants found unable to aid and assist within seven days, but that unpredictable spikes in admissions have made compliance difficult because the hospital is operating at capacity.
According to the agency, the long-term solution is to increase capacity outside the hospital.
“Because OSH is at capacity, the primary and most direct way for Defendants to return to compliance is to build enough capacity in the community to place patients who are ready to discharge from OSH or to divert them from being admitted to OSH in the first instance,” said a spokesperson.
OHA said those efforts are already underway, pointing to Governor Tina Kotek’s recent announcement that Oregon expects to add 1,660 licensed residential treatment beds statewide, including more than 1,000 that are already open.
Disability Rights Oregon, one of the plaintiffs in the federal case, also pushed back on prosecutors’ claims that limiting admissions to the Oregon State Hospital would jeopardize public safety.
Instead, the organization argues that leaving people in jail while they wait for treatment only worsens the problem.
“No one gets better sitting in a jail cell waiting for a hospital bed. The federal court has made clear that people with mental health conditions have a constitutional right to timely treatment — not open-ended incarceration. Where Oregon and District Attorneys have failed to uphold these constitutional rights, the federal court has stepped in to protect our clients,” said Tom Stenson, deputy legal director for Disability Rights Oregon.
The group also disputed the district attorneys’ argument that the June 1 order will reduce access to restoration services, saying the opposite is true.
“There is no data showing that fewer defendants are receiving restoration services at the Oregon State Hospital. In fact, limiting the length of stay at the Oregon State Hospital increases the number of people who receive restoration services there,” said Stenson. “There is already a continuum of community-based options where restoration services are available — from locked secure residential treatment facilities, supportive housing, and outpatient services.”
Stenson also rejected the idea that keeping defendants in the state hospital longer would improve community safety.
“The evidence is clear: warehousing people with mental health conditions in jails doesn’t make anyone safer. It delays real treatment, makes people sicker, and means they cycle back into crisis. Genuine public safety comes from getting people into appropriate care quickly, not from keeping them in a holding pattern that helps no one.”
KATU has reached out to the Governor’s Office for comment, and are still working to get answers.
The June 15, 2026 joint statement from District Attorneys Nathan Vasquez, John Wentworth, and Kevin Barton is below:
“As the elected district attorneys for Oregon’s three most populous counties, we prosecute over 24,000 cases annually and our combined responsibility is to keep approximately 1.8 million people safe.
We have watched with great frustration as Oregon’s mental health system fails to provide essential treatment and support. The result of this breakdown is visible on our streets and in our criminal justice system.
When this system failure makes headlines, such as the burning of a popular deli or the attempted fire-bombing of an athletic club, it receives attention and generates awareness. Sadly, that attention and awareness have not resulted in meaningful improvement. As a result, Oregonians remain stuck with a broken system.
In the long-running Mink/Bowman case that began in 2002, the federal court issued its most recent order on June 1, 2026. This order overrides Oregon’s democratically enacted laws. It places reckless and ill-conceived limits on who may be admitted to the Oregon State Hospital and how long they may remain for necessary treatment. The practical effect will be to make it impossible to prosecute many defendants for a variety of crimes, including violent and sexual crimes such as rape and murder, placing our communities at incredible and unacceptable risk. Notwithstanding that risk, the Oregon Health Authority and Oregon State Hospital took no position on the issuance of the June 1 court order.
The state has failed to establish and maintain a mental health system and a state hospital that meets community needs. The current insufficient system harms individuals who deserve treatment, the victims who deserve justice, and the public who deserve safety.
We therefore call on Governor Tina Kotek, Oregon Health Authority Director Sejal Hathi, and Oregon State Hospital Interim Superintendent James Diegel, to take the following action:
(1) Mink/Bowman Federal Case
The June 1 federal court order is scheduled to be reviewed by the court later this month to determine whether it remains in place or expires. Rather than continuing to “take no position” we ask that you fully inform the federal court of
the public safety and victim safety ramifications of its current order and advocate for that order to be modified to address the concerns.
(2) Bed Capacity Increase
The Oregon Health Authority Behavioral Health Residential+ Facility Study (June 2024) recommended additional bed capacity throughout Oregon’s mental health system, including an additional 486 inpatient psychiatric facility beds. We ask that you develop and implement a concrete plan to meet the increased bed capacity needs in a reasonable period of time.
(3) Expand Access to Treatment
To meet the growing community need, the state should support expanding access to mental health treatment at all levels of care. While there have been recent legislative investments in community-based programs and facilities, those programs and facilities are insufficient to meet the needs of Oregon’s most acute and dangerous individuals.
We are willing to partner with the state to identify concrete solutions that will ensure the safety of our communities while also addressing the needs of defendants in need of mental health care. As Oregon’s three most populous counties with criminal caseloads that comprise nearly half of the total state volume, programs we implement can have a statewide impact by reducing the strain on the Oregon State Hospital.
With this message, we are sounding the alarm. We urge Oregon’s leaders to act with urgency to address this ongoing yet solvable problem.”