Introduction. In Norway, The Judge Will Determine Whether

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and of that over sixty percent of jail inmates reported having a mental health issue and 316,000 of them are severely mentally ill (Raphael & Stoll, 2013). Correctional facilities in the United States have become the primary mental health institutions today (Adams & Ferrandino, 2008). This imprisonment of the mentally ill in the United States has increased the incarceration rate and has left those individuals medically untreated and emotionally unstable while in jail and after being released. Better housing facilities, medical treatment and psychiatric counseling can be helpful in alleviating their illness as well as upon their release. This paper will

Everyday correctional officials work to deal with mental health inmates. Often hotly debated, many search for ways to work with this growing population. Glaze and Bonczar (2009) estimate around 2.3 million people are incarcerated within the US and of those, 20 percent suffer from some form of mental disorder. Even with such a high number, the rate of mental illnesses within the prison system is on the climb. Many of these inmates will remain incarcerated and receive little to no treatment for their mental issues. This essay, will look at the practices associated when dealing with mental illness and discuss the strategies on dealing with this growing issue.

According to a 2006 Bureau of Justice Statistics report found that over half of the inmates in both prisons and in jails had a problem concerning their mental health (James & Glaze, 2006). The estimates in this report were separated by federal prisons, which contained 45 percent of inmates suffering from mental illness, 56 percent in state prisons, and

When there is a mentally ill prisoner, should they suffer? Solitary confinement does this to prisoners all Solitary confinement means isolating prisoners in a separate cell as a form of punishment, worsening the prisoner’s mental health around the world. Mentally ill inmates have many factors of poor treatment in prisons worsening their health rather than helping them. Solitary Confinement remains an ineffective method of punishment for prisoners causing prisoners mental distress, many different forms of neglect, leading them to suicide, and worsening their mental wellbeing.

​Mental health disorders are a significant cause of morbidity in prisons across the United States (U.S). Deinstitutionalization of the state’s mental health system has turned prisons into America’s “new asylums”; it has become a warehouse for the mentally ill. Our U.S prison rehabilitative services are not equipped to provide care and psychological treatment for the mentally ill which allows for these mental illnesses to persist, worsen or even trigger new ones. It can even cause inmates to wind up back in prison upon release for minor offenses. In addition to the lack of resources for these mentally ill individuals, the prison environment also directly affects the mental

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

With overpopulation in jails come healthcare issues for these inmates. Prison overcrowding breaches United Nations and other international standards by causing a situation where various factors such as poor hygiene facilities and restricted living space generally decreases prisoners’ feelings of health and well being, and puts strain on the effective delivery of healthcare. Diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, or other diseases are predisposing before entering the jail system. The health of prisoners are inferior to that of the general population. Prisoners face health and social problems. These health problems may be chronic, acute, or both. Some health problems may include increase rate of health risk behaviors, communicable diseases, and mental illness.

Isolation can provoke great psychological harm to any prisoner, however the severity of the impact depends on the inmate’s current mental status, and duration of the isolation, along with the particular conditions while secluded. The absence of social and environmental interaction exacerbate a mentally ill prisoner’s ability to handle the stresses of incarceration which causes dangerous, annoying and bizarre behavior. Prison officials will usually respond to this continued misconduct, often connected to mental illness, by keeping the inmates in isolation indefinitely. It is not uncommon for a mentally ill inmate to significantly regress in isolation, and require crisis care or psychiatric

The American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch created a report that described how placement in solitary confinement exacerbated the stresses of being in jail or prison. Many resort to harming themselves with staples or razors, having hallucinations, losing touch with reality and having thoughts of or attempting suicide – all this while having very limited access to health care. While some inmates are known to have psychiatric disorders prior to entering the prison, others develop mental disorders as a result of being placed in a solitary confinement. Psychological effects can include anxiety, depression, anger, cognitive disturbances, perceptual distortions, obsessive thoughts, paranoia and psychosis. Moreover, isolating prisoners who are known to have mental illnesses is that it prevents the inmates from ever possibly recovering.

Mental illnesses can develop in those who have no history of mental illness. Inmates can be triggered by traumatic experiences behind those prison doors. Solitary confinement can have a vast effect on inmates. “In California, 2% of the prison population is housed in isolation, and yet that 2% accounted for 42% of all prison suicides from 2006 to 2010.” (Bennion, 2015)

Solitary confinement drastically affects mentally ill prisoners differently as compared to the general population. Such effects are psychological and they are as follows: (1) anxiety; (2) depression; (3) anger; (4) cognitive disturbances; (5) perceptual distortions; (6) obsessive thoughts; (7) paranoia; and (8) psychosis (Metzner & Fellner, 2010). Being confined inside a unit with no windows can disorient inmates with or without mental disorders, and failure to provide mentally ill inmates with psychiatric help could result in more disruptive behaviors. Prison officials must be aware and mindful of inmates that are medically diagnosed with mental disorders. Placing mentally ill prisoners in solitary confinement can jeopardize the safety and efficient operation of a correctional facility, and pose challenges for correctional professionals (Newman & Scott, 2012).

There are approximately 1,600,000 million inmates are behind bars in America (Glazer, 2014, para. 11) . Without a doubt, much of state prisons are overcrowded, which can lead to, very dangerous situations and environments. Due to the overwhelming number of inmates incarcerated it is difficult to deal with medical and mental health problems in prison. If most inmates complain about not feeling well or have symptoms, medical condition or disease that is not immediately, they would get some form of medication and get turned life back without seeing a doctor for a proper medical exam. A clear majority of the health care professional that work in the prison systems are very under qualified to work in such dangerous and trauma environments like prisons

However, there are many inmates who are unable to cope well with the pains of imprisonment. Maladaptive responses such as emotional disorders, self-harm and suicide attempts are the most common during the initial phases of incarceration (Adams, 1992*pg. 275*). Being barred from the outside world, prisoners develop coping mechanisms that allow them to deal with the pains of incarceration. According to Thomas and Foster, two theoretical models have emerged in response to the coping mechanisms demonstrated by inmates.

Believe it or not Norway has one of the lowest recidivism rate in the world, so they must be doing something right, RIGHT? With no bars, fully stocked kitchens for the inmates to cook in, and friendships between the inmates and the guards that are encouraged, their prisons are as normal as possible. They believe that removing the person’s freedom is punishment enough and want to be able to return the individual to society as a peaceful productive person by using restorative justice. Just a side note, SPS will add to in five year increments the inmate’s initial sentence if they feel that the inmate is not rehabilitated and can do so indefinitely (Sterbenz,