Question: My brother has mental conditions and also is homeless. Is he wrong for running from his warrants?
My brother has a mental condition and warrants fro his arrest, should he run from his warrants?
Answer: We aren’t lawyers and it’s only our opinion; that if he understands he is wanted and is on the run he knows he must have done something wrong. Warrants never go away but check with your state or county where the warrants were issued. As well, it is almost a matter of time before he will probably be arrested for those warrants, and when he is, the arresting officer(s) may not know of his mental condition and things could go south from there (depending on his illness).
He’ll never be able to run from the warrants, he can only clear them. The only way to clear the warrants is to turn yourself in and proceed with the case. Although if you don’t finish the case more than likely new warrants will be issued to bring the accused back to court.
Read The Full Story on Warrants: How Long Does a Warrant Last
If you are worried about his mental condition in jail it would be best to bring him in yourself and let the officers know of his mental condition. I suggest talking with a bondsmen first to get his bail together so that maybe he wouldn’t have to sit too long in jail and only be processed. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to my brother if he had mental issues in jail where his behavior could be misinterpreted by jail staff and other inmates. Finding a bondsmen is simple and all will meet you at the jail to begin the bail process.
If the jail staff knows up front he has a mental condition and possibly needed meds they would take care to hold him differently than another inmate and get him the help he needed. Look, the jail staff has no resentment towards your brother, they are simply doing the processing of the warrant, paperwork and the person. It would be a good idea to alert them of a mental condition of the person they are in-processing so they could adjust the process accordingly. Maybe they need to take a little time asking him to do something (remove shoes, hand over wallet, jewelry etc).
Some people in an agitated state need to be handled differently and most jailers are professionals and certainly know how to handle any situation to make sure everything goes smooth for all involved. But, they would need to know of his mental condition first. Turning him in would be the way to do this. Again, contact a qualified attorney on this and any other legal matter.
Our opinion and also past conversations with a defense lawyer, it doesn’t often look good in the eyes of the judge or jury when warrants have to be issued and the person is on the run. It does not make them look any more innocent regardless of the charges.
Our suggestion is to locate a defense lawyer and get a bail bondsmen in your area and get the criminal matter cleared up.
Who knows, maybe it will get your brother off the streets and on a new path for his life?