Three advocacy groups have sued the Missouri Department of Mental Health over long delays in its competency testing process for criminal defendants.

ArchCity Defenders, the ACLU of Missouri and the MacArthur Justice Center filed the federal lawsuit Monday on behalf of six individuals held in jails across the state. They are seeking permission from a judge to expand the suit to include all defendants who are awaiting a court-ordered competency exam or who have been found incompetent but have not yet received treatment.

“Our clients and hundreds like them are left helpless, caged, and abandoned by DMH,” MacArthur Justice Director Amy Malinowski said in a statement. “This betrayal of Missourians must end now.”

State law allows a judge or attorneys on either side of a criminal case to a

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