Essay On Mentally Ill Offenders

Throughout the ages, treatment of the mentally ill has evolved with distinct periods of progression, stagnation and regression. At various points in history, treatment of the mentally ill included cruel and inhumane acts, while at other times, consisted of compassionate and benevolent care. It was thought that mental illness was derived from organic causes and treated the same way as common health issues such as colds or constipation. The clergy of many religions took on the burden taking care of those with mental illnesses. Monastic monks found themselves attending to the care of those with mental illness. The monks prayed for them, touched them with relics and prepared potions for them to

Solitary confinement has had a long history in the American prison system. America is the first country to adapt solitary confinement into the prison regiment. Pennsylvania had the first special housing units for inmates or “SHU”. When Europeans came to America to look at the new model for prisons in Pennsylvania they wrote reports describing to the European parliament on how prisoners were treated like caged animals. Many of them quickly realized that this was not what prisons were set out to accomplish. The purpose of a prison is to rehabilitate criminals and bring them back into society as an individual that has the best mental tools and skills to make their respective communities better. Putting inmates in solitary confinement for more than 48 hours can only lead to awful emotional pain and mental problems which can result in self-destructive behavior to regain the self-control that is being deprived through this process of isolation and expulsion.

Hippocrates was the first to recognize that mental illness was due to ‘disturbed physiology’ as opposed to ‘displeasure of the gods or evidence of demonic possession’. It was not until about one thousand years later that the first place designated for the mentally ill came to be in 15th century Spain. Before the 15th century, it was largely up to individual’s families to care for them. By the 17th century, society was ‘often housing them with handicapped people, vagrants, and delinquents. Those considered insane are increasingly treated inhumanely, often chained to walls and kept in dungeons’. There are great strides for the medical treatments for the mentally

Solitary confinement in the prison system is far too common in this country. Bohm and Haley (2017) note that 15 consecutive days spent in solitary confinement is considered to be cruel and/or torturesome as reported by a UN Special Rapporteur. These 15 days are also the point at which psychological damage occurs and is also irreversible. So if 15 days has been identified as cruelty and likely irreversible to one’s mental stability, then why do prison systems continue to place inmates in solitary confinement for

While solitary confinement is one of the most effective ways of keeping todays prisoners from conflict and communication, it is also the most detrimental to their health. According to NPR the reason for most solitary confinement units in America “is to control the prison gangs (NPR, 2011).” But that is not always the case. Sometimes putting a gang member in solitary reduces the shock and awe effect that it is supposed to have, when they start losing their minds. The prisoners kept in solitary confinement show more psychotic symptoms than that of a normal prisoner, including a higher suicide rate. Once a prisoner’s mental capacity to understand why he is in prison and why he is being punished is gone, there is no reason to keep said

A study conducted in California’s prison system from 1999 to 2004 determined that nearly half of all suicides committed by inmates were because they were in solitary confinement (Breslow, 2014). Although some inmates have failed at their suicide attempts, that does not mean that they have not attempted to end their lives. There is a higher rate of inmates self mutilating while being in solitary confinement than if they were in the general prison population (Breslow, 2014). This means that inmates that are isolated are more of a danger to themselves. Being in solitary confinement also attributes to personality disorders, Breslow mentioned that many inmates lose the ability to communicate with others after being in solitary confinement for a long period of time and thus do not want to leave their cells (2014). It can be argued that having inmates in solitary confinement is a human rights violation. When inmates are isolated, they are constantly being monitored through a camera. The inmates have no form of communication with people and even their food is passed through a slot on the door. Solitary confinement can be considered torture because it has been proven that by subjecting inmates to this they experience mental illnesses such as paranoia, hallucination, panic attacks, and suicidal attempts (Breslow, 2014).

There is not much data today on supermax prisons even though these facilities are steadily growing across the nation (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Many experts that have conducted some studies have determined that long-term solitary confinement can cause acute sensory deprivation, paranoid delusion belief systems, irrational fears of violence, resentment, little ability to control rage, and mental breakdowns (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). An interesting statistical fact is that 45% of inmates in Washington’s supermax prisons have been deemed seriously mentally ill (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Most inmates in long-term solitary confinement are anxious, angry, depressed, insecure, and confused (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Many of these prisoners

Moreover, maximum security prisons that use solitary confinement as a primary means of prison discipline are more likely to target inmates that are suffering from mental health illnesses. According to a study produced by the American Friends Service Committee, the researchers found that 26% of inmates in Arizona’s supermax prisons were suffering from mental illness, which only compared to 16.8% of Arizona’s general prison population (AFSC, 2012). Supermax prisons holds larger numbers of mentally ill inmates then that of the general prisons. Therefore, it is very likely for inmates suffering from mental health issues to become the most primary victims of solitary confinement.

There are many inmates who are affected emotionally every day. When people commit a crime and go to prison they are still able to communicate with their fellow inmates and participate in physical functions. When depriving someone of their daily habits and routines you are changing their entire life. We as humans cannot function without our family and friends. People in solitary confinement are deprived of much more than family and friends. They are dehumanized, tortured, and punished beyond

Just imagine a criminal walking down a hallway to a small enclosed space that they will be trapped in there seeing those exact same 4 prison walls for days, weeks, month, and even years. Only seeing another human being when given food, though a small slot in the door. Some criminals turn out fine, but others Most of them slowly goes insane going crazier and crazier by the day. Many people have been debating on if solitary confinement should even be in prisons or not. So Solitary confinement does not effectively work as well as it needs to.

                According to Solitary Watch “Over the past 30 years, prisons and jails have become the nation’s largest inpatient psychiatric centers, and solitary confinement cells, in particular, are now used to warehouse thousands of individuals with mental illness.”

There are numerous ethical issues regarding solitary confinement ranging from no resources to mental and physical harm. Most of the inmate population eventually goes back to society. Those who were in solitary confinement receive no resources from the correctional facility. A prisoner recently release from prison needs all the help they can get to survive on their own. However, such resources being taken away, increases the chances of recidivism. What seems to be everlasting isolation for such prisoners causes psychotic illnesses. Long-term segregation is often used among correctional facilities causing higher risk of mental illness symptoms (Arrigo and Bullock, 2008). Isolation in such narrow spaces conflicts the mind into being afraid of other human beings. Prisoners prolonged sentences in solitary confinement get used to being by themselves and forget how to react with others. As mental harm wasn’t enough, correctional officers tend to abuse their power. Their abusiveness comes from

Solitary confinement, is not only bad for the inmates, but it is a drain on the economy. Solitary confinement prisons are massive complexes built at tax payer expense, meant to house a mere fraction of what it has the capability of. Each cell is made even smaller than the already miniscule prison cells, and are made to fit only one person. Guards vastly outnumber the prisoners and their salaries as well as whatever equipment, and the prisoners’ meals all cost the tax payers money. Overall, it’s too much to pay for something that does no

Since the early 1800s, the United States has relied on a method of punishment barely known to any other country, solitary confinement (Cole). Despite this method once being thought of as the breakthrough in the prison system, history has proved differently. Solitary confinement was once used in a short period of time to fix a prisoners behavior, but is now used as a long term method that shows to prove absolutely nothing. Spending 22-24 hours a day in a small room containing practically nothing has proved to fix nothing in a person except further insanity. One cannot rid himself of insanity in a room that causes them to go insane. Solitary confinement is a flawed and unnecessary method of punishment that should be prohibited in the prison

The justification of solitary confinement is helping to keep inmates with mental illness away from other prisoners for their safety.The high-security is designed to enforce the prisoners with mental illness are held away from the inmates that don't have a mental illness.These restrictions isolate the inmates with their disorders until they can regain the health state they were previously in when they entered prison.These inmates are treated differently than the others they receive their meals through door slots and they rarely can get visitors to come see them since they're locked up for their safety.The solitary confinements will continue to grow day by day because of the prisoners that get released tend to come back within few months because