The Texas Bar Foundation has awarded NAMI Texas (the Texas Affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness) a $34,264 grant to allow for the creation, publication, and wide distribution of an 7th edition of the “Texas Criminal Procedure and the Offender with Mental Illness: An Analysis and Guide.”
Texas Tech University School of Law Paul Whitfield Horn Professor Brian Shannon has agreed to draft the seventh edition of the guide on a pro bono basis.
“I’m delighted by the grant for the new edition and honored that previous editions of the book are widely used by judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys in cases across the state,” Shannon said.
Since 1993, the Texas Bar Foundation has provided grants to NAMI Texas for six previous editions of this detailed guide concerning Texas criminal procedure and alleged offenders with mental illness. Shannon and late Texas Tech School of Law Horn Professor Daniel Benson donated their time to research, write and produce the first four editions of the book, while Shannon authored the fifth and sixth editions.
“All too often, individuals with mental illness find themselves in the criminal justice system, while they would be better served in treatment. NAMI Texas is proud to produce the leading educational resource on Texas criminal laws and procedures pertaining to mental illness,” said Hannah Gill, NAMI Texas Policy Fellow.
As with previous editions, NAMI Texas will use grant funds to distribute several thousand copies of the book to Texas judges, prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys and other key legal stakeholders. A free version of the new edition also will be made available on the NAMI Texas website.
