Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer has sounded the alarm: a dozen criminal defendants the state itself admits are too mentally ill to be restored to competency face statutory release back into our neighborhoods because there simply aren’t enough locked treatment beds available. This isn’t speculation — Spitzer issued a formal warning that unless the county or state steps up, those individuals will walk free under current law.
Among the names Mr. Spitzer cited are people accused of brutal, senseless violence — including a defendant charged with hacking a stranger to death with a hatchet and another who severely beat a 65‑year‑old neighbor. These are not harmless cases swept up by an overreaching justice system; these are violent crimes with victims who deserve justice and communities that deserve safety.
Here’s the ugly legal mechanics: when the state hospital system cannot restore a defendant to competency after two years, criminal proceedings end unless the county can obtain a conservatorship placement in a locked, state‑licensed facility — and those beds are in dangerously short supply. That leaves the county’s Public Guardian as the last line of defense, but without secured placements the only option becomes release.
Democrats in Sacramento proudly tout CARE Court, Prop 1 bond measures, and a slate of behavioral health bills as proof they’re “fixing” the crisis, but the reality on the ground is far different: promises and pilot programs don’t build the locked, staffed facilities we need today. California has a well‑documented shortage of psychiatric and inpatient beds even as lawmakers race to roll out new programs, leaving an accountability gap between rhetoric in Sacramento and public safety on our streets.
This isn’t an accident — it’s the consequence of political priorities that favor optics over outcomes. Governor Gavin Newsom and the Legislature can trumpet funding packages and new courts, but when those measures fail to produce secure placements or staffing, ordinary Californians pay the price. Spitzer is right to demand immediate action and a special hearing from the Board of Supervisors; elected officials must be held accountable when their policies put citizens at risk.
Time is not on our side: Spitzer warned the first two releases could occur as early as November 7, 2025, with more deadlines looming into January 2026 if placements aren’t found. This is a concrete, ticking deadline — not a theoretical worry — and it should sober every parent, neighbor, and business owner in Orange County and beyond.
Hardworking Americans don’t want to live in fear because California’s political class prefers experiments to enforcement. The solution is simple in principle and urgent in practice: build and staff secure treatment beds, empower conservatorship and assisted‑outpatient tools where appropriate, and stop turning public safety into a talking point. Demand action from your supervisors and your state leaders now — Mom, Dad, neighbor, don’t wait until a headline turns into a tragedy.
