Sol Wachtler had a grim statistic to share with his audience: “After the Vietnam conflict, we had over 200,000 veterans who went to prison.” He added, “We’re determined to see that this doesn’t happen again.” Judge Wachtler, former Chief Judge of the New York State Court of Appeals, spoke during a panel discussion, sponsored by the Veterans Mental Health Coalition of New York City, at which speakers described efforts to steer nonviolent veteran offenders away from imprisonment and instead offer them support services and mental health treatment. One such program drew a good deal of attention: the Veterans Project, a groundbreaking North Shore-LIJ Health System initiative developed by Judge Wachtler, a lifetime North Shore-LIJ trustee. Read more [...]