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A bill to tighten California’s rules on mental health diversion — a process that allows certain criminal defendants to avoid prison for arrests linked to mental illness — is now on the verge of being signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Assembly Bill 46, authored by Stephanie Nguyen (D-Elk Grove), gives judges much wider discretion to decide whether a defendant should be eligible for diversion. Under the current law, judges must presume mental illness was a factor if a defendant with a legitimate diagnosis seeks diversion. In order to defeat a diversion request, the burden is on prosecutors to prove mental health issues were not a factor in the alleged crime.

The new measure — which moved through the state Senate with no opposition last month and is expected to clear the reconciliation process in the Assembly this week — also gives judges more latitude to block diversion if a defendant poses “a risk of danger to public safety,” as opposed to the higher “unreasonable risk” standard that was passed in 2018. Defendants charged with attempted murder will no longer be eligible for diversion under the new bill.

Proponents of more inclusive diversion policies argue that many people with mental health issues are locked up in California prisons and jails, where they are unable to receive the help they need.

The pending bill’s supporters say its changes are designed to address cases like that of Gilberto Guttierrez, a Los Angeles County man who has been accused of attacking his wife four times over the last 12 years.

In 2014, a misdemeanor domestic violence allegation landed Guttierrez on probation. Three years later, Guttierrez was ordered to take anger management classes after prosecutors brought felony domestic violence charges against him. Last February, prosecutors allege, he carried out a “brutal attack” on his wife with a glass bottle, leaving her with “extensive injuries,” according to a motion filed in his current criminal case. That time, the court filings show, Guttierrez threatened to kill her.

Despite objections from prosecutors and L.A. County probation officials, a judge granted a request to give Guttierrez mental health diversion last July.

A month later, prosecutors allege, he beat his wife until she fell into a coma.

When it passed in 2018, the original mental health diversion law was heralded as a needed off-ramp for defendants suffering from serious psychological issues — offering treatment to those who need it rather than a prison cell. But with voters statewide souring on progressive criminal justice reforms, lawmakers have sought to make it harder for defendants to qualify.

“AB 46 preserves diversion as an important pathway to care while ensuring judges have a clearer and more workable standard when serious public safety concerns are present,” Nguyen said in a statement last month.

Under the existing rules, defendants who successfully argue for pretrial mental health diversion spend two years undergoing a court-appointed treatment plan instead of facing a conviction. Prosecutors must prove the defendant is likely to commit a serious violent crime, a so-called “super strike,” again in order to block diversion.

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman, one of many prosecutors statewide who supported Nguyen’s bill, said that has been a nearly impossible standard to overcome.

“Guttierrez being your example: Judge, if you release him, he’s going to probably beat his wife up again, and if he does this time, he could kill her. But for the grace of God, he hasn’t killed her up until now,” Hochman said.

He added that due to the judge’s decision to grant diversion in Guttierrez’s case, “you have three little kids who likely won’t have their mom for the rest of their life.”

A spokesperson for Newsom did not respond to a request for comment about his plans for the legislation.

A 2020 Rand Corporation study found 61% of the nearly 5,500 mentally ill inmates housed in Los Angeles County at that time were “likely appropriate candidates” for diversion.

But a number of troubling incidents have led to pushback against the existing diversion law.

In a letter supporting Nguyen’s bill, the California District Attorneys Assn. rattled off a list of cases in which prosecutors say the law’s shortcomings had deadly consequences. They pointed to a case in Sacramento where a defendant stabbed a 40-year-old man to death after he was granted diversion in a robbery case. In Santa Clara, the letter said, a woman on mental health diversion for carjacking proceeded to steal another car and slam it into an outside table at a restaurant, leaving one person dead and others injured.

Nikhil Ramnaney, a former federal prosecutor who now works as a defense attorney in Southern California, said thousands of people benefit from mental health diversion every year without reoffending and chastised the bill’s supporters for cherry-picking horrible — but rare — cases to muster support for their proposal.

“This is their most effective strategy because it works. Pick up the most visceral, outrageous anecdotes and then repeat them and amplify them as much as possible,” he said. “That’s how we get bad policy.”

Defense attorney Alexandra Kazarian said California politicians are repeating age-old mistakes of trying to arrest their way out of a mental health crisis.

“Without this option, you throw them into prison for a couple of years, they get out, and nothing changes. I’ve seen real change in my clients who have been granted these and who have just been on horrific mental health breaks and who, two years later, fully have their lives together,” she said. “You’re always going to be able to find an outlier. You’re always going to be able to find somebody who ruins what is a great project or program.”

Hochman said the modified mental health diversion law is a “rebalancing” of the scales in California after years of attempts to lower the state’s overcrowded jail populations affected public safety.

“In the end, I’m not looking for pendulum swings,” he said. “I think we did have a pendulum swing when these laws were being passed and people weren’t really discussing, or at least understanding, the public safety impact of laws that seem on their surface to be very — I wouldn’t even use the word ‘progressive,’ but very helpful to people who are suffering.”

The West Highland Line has been named the world’s most beautiful railway, but does Scotland’s iconic 164-mile train journey truly live up to the hype? I boarded the train through the Scottish Highlands to find out.

“I think this is the most beautiful train line I’ve ever been on.”

Those words genuinely escaped my mouth as my wife and I rattled through the Scottish Highlands, skirting the edges of glistening lochs, weaving between ancient mountains, and crossing hauntingly stark yet stunning moorland.

“You’ve been on it before,” she kindly reminded me. Thankfully, my tendency to experience something and then completely forget about it doesn’t diminish its beauty one bit.

The legendary West Highland Line departs Glasgow and plunges deep into the west coast, steaming alongside the Clyde to Helensburgh, before heading north via Garelochhead and Loch Long towards either Oban or Mallaig. Shortly after escaping Scotland’s largest city, the undulating, wind turbine-topped hills begin to swell as the Highlands draw near.

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The railway carries you northward along the coastline, passing through the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. At Crianlarich, the track divides, continuing either past Loch Awe towards Oban, or climbing high up to Rannoch Moor.

The line traverses the moorland for 23 miles, ascending to over 400 metres and offering unrivalled vistas of one of Europe’s last remaining wild places: an enormous expanse of blanket bog, lochans, rivers, and rocky outcrops where curlews, grouse, roe deer, and red deer roam freely.

The Moor captured near-national fascination during the Victorian period, when initial fear and mild disgust at its wild and forbidding character transformed into devotion. Among the early travellers were the poet William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy, who visited in 1803 and tentatively described the place as “desolate and extensively wild”.

Just seven years later, Scotland’s greatest champion, Sir Walter Scott, published his celebrated poem The Lady of the Lake. The work showcased Loch Katrine in the Trossachs, south of Rannoch Moor, thrusting it into the spotlight. Inspired visitors descended on the region to witness how “Summer dawn’s reflected hue to purple changed Loch Katrine blue” for themselves.

Travelling north to the Highlands and back again a few days later, we experienced both faces of this remarkable landscape. During our night journey, the glens and Munros loomed against the train window, making our tiny illuminated carriage feel insignificant as it rattled along. On the bright, sunny return trip, the breathtaking vistas — sparkling lochs nestled beneath sheer mountains capped with lush greenery — felt more reminiscent of Switzerland or Austria than bonny Scotland.

Without doubt, the most iconic spot along the route is the Glenfinnan Viaduct, immortalised in the Harry Potter films as the path of the Hogwarts Express. Passengers cross this magnificent structure en route to Mallaig, the terminus of the 164-mile line.

However, spending an afternoon at the viaduct may be worth reconsidering. During my visit, a persistent drizzle dampened the spirits of the crowds of Potter enthusiasts, many of whom appeared rather deflated by what was on offer: two pipers playing sombrely and some railway infrastructure. Add to that the fact that the locals of the 100-person village are fed up with the crowds, and the choice to give it a miss seems straightforward.

Mallaig is a far superior option, boasting excellent whale-watching excursions that provide frequent sightings of the cheerful minke pods inhabiting the waters.

There are numerous other attractions to discover along the route.

Corrour, Britain’s highest-altitude railway station, draws Trainspotting enthusiasts due to its prominent appearance in the film. It is equally picturesque and captivating. There are no roads here, so visitors head directly onto the walking trails via a quick meal at the Corrour Station House.

Another gem is Tyndrum. This former mining settlement is now the smallest location in Britain to boast two railway stations. They enable travellers to branch off, climbing steeply up the glen towards the north or west.

For me, the town marks the final stop in the Lowlands, the spot where you pause before heading across the Moor and into the mountains. Such adventures require fuelling up on fish and chips or curry at the superb Green Welly Boot Stop while watching its wonderful collection of birds.

The West Highland Line is far more than just a train journey. Step aboard and you’ll find yourself rubbing shoulders with forestry workers heading to work, mountain bikers, walkers, local schoolchildren, and railway enthusiasts eager to discover whether a route once crowned the world’s most beautiful truly lives up to its reputation. It’s a living tapestry of Scotland at its finest: mountains, moorland, lochs, wildlife, and history, all rolling out before you at a gloriously unhurried pace.