He’s physically sick and mentally ill. So why is this Bucks County man in a jail cell?

Dennis Deska is not considered competent enough to stand trial for aggravated assault, but he still went to jail — not a psychiatric hospital.

Air Date: April 30, 2019

Since his arrest in July 2018, Dennis Deska, of Doyelstown, has ping-ponged between the Bucks County jail and the emergency room. (Courtesy of Deska's family)

Fifty-eight-year-old Dennis Deska was arrested after throwing a flower pot through the window of a diner and crashing into a police car. He has a history of severe mental health issues, as well as other physical problems, but he hasn’t been taken to a psychiatric hospital. Instead, he’s sat in jail for almost 10 months without a preliminary hearing. Why has this happened to Deska? And how does his case reflect a broader mental health crisis in Pennsylvania? Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Samantha Melamed and host of WHYY’s The Pulse, Maiken Scott join us on this episode of The Why.

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