The problem has got bad enough for some politicians to reconsider the current tough policy, and try to divert non-violent mentally ill offenders away from prisons.

ECONOMIST: Mental illness

Try to go any deeper, like ill-fated Toledo, and you encounter another problem.

FORBES: On The Cover/Top Stories

Incurably ill patients grapple with both despair and hope of such magnitude that they are willing to try unproven embryonic stem cell treatments overseas despite mounting evidence that doctors who perform such procedures, currently not approved in the United States, do so only to convert hope into cash.

FORBES: Embryonic Stem Cells an Undying Lure for the Ill, CNN Doc Shows

When acting Attorney General James Comey backed him up, then White House Counsel Gonzales and White House Chief of Staff Andy Card went to the hospital to try to get a critically ill John Ashcroft to override the decision.

NPR: Senate Panel to Hear from Ex-DOJ Official