Mentally Ill Criminals : Punishment Vs. Treatment

Given the number of incarcerated inmates who suffer from some form of mental illness, there are growing concerns and questions in the medical field about treatment of the mentally ill in the prison system. When a person with a mental illness commits a crime or break the law, they are immediately taken to jail or sent off to prison instead of being evaluated and placed in a hospital or other mental health facility. “I have always wondered if the number of mentally ill inmates increased since deinstitutionalization” Since prison main focus is on the crimes inmates are incarcerated; the actual treatment needed for the mentally ill is secondary. Mentally ill prisoners on the surface may appear to be just difficult inmates depending on the

There are some differences between a normal criminal and a criminal that suffers from a mental illness in the criminal justice system. For example one of the many fundamentals to our criminal justice system is the principle that no one can be tried or adjudged to punishment while mentally incompetent. Trials for mentally unstable people have been modified and are run by different guidelines. Unlike a regular convict, most mentally unstable convicts are unable to comprehend or are unable to complete a trial. Once a convict with a mental illness is convicted or awaiting trail their every medical need must be accommodated within the faculty and it's staff. Without the proper medical care a person with mental illness can become

The United States criminal justice system has been continuously increasing incarceration among individuals who suffer from a sever mental illness. As of 2007 individuals with severe mental illness were over twice as likely to be found in prisons than in society (National Commission of Correctional Health Care, 2002, as cited in Litschge &Vaughn, 2009). The offenses that lead to their commitment in a criminal facility, in the majority of cases, derive from symptoms of their mental illness instead of deviant behavior. Our criminal justice system is failing those who would benefit more from the care of a psychiatric rehabilitation facility or psychiatric hospital by placing them in correctional facilities or prisons.

This paper intends to examine the relationship between mental health (specifically individuals who exhibit mental illness) and the criminal justice system. The paper will be broken down into areas focusing on the issues that exists for and between the law enforcement officials and those who have mental illness and end up involved in the penial justice system. Individuals who have mental health issues are special cases that will be addressed within this paper with the focus being how they end upon the wrong side of the law and more importantly how they are treated by the criminal justice system when this occurs. By studying this subject from a historical context will enable the writer to establish how the criminal justice system in this country

Mental health courts are courts specifically dedicated to offering an alternative option to incarceration for the mentally ill offenders by providing treatment options. The idea of mental health courts is noble, one should not view only the benefits but also the possible detrimental impacts they could have on the public before providing funding. One can only make an informed decision on the merits of mental health courts funding when they weigh the benefits recidivism rates, public safety, equality for the mentally ill against the detrimental effects such as reintegrating convicts back into society, promotion of medicalization of deviance, and the possible unnecessary arrests.

The stigma of mental illness creates a barrier for those who need treatment. Over the years, cases dealing with mentally ill persons involved with the criminal justice system have been prevalent. The cycle of courtrooms, prisons, and jails dealing with these individuals proved to be costly and an ineffective use of these resources (Docgurley, 2011). As a result, mental health courts have been established. This is essentially a therapeutic place where the focus is less on the crime and punishment and more on helping the client, which is usually in lieu of a jail or prison sentence. Particularly in this setting, it is important to understand the process of court proceedings, how client rights are protected, the importance of client safety and welfare, the gaps in services, and the course of involuntary treatment.

For instance not all people may not even be in their right state of mind; mens rea, when committing a crime. Some people can be mentally ill that they have no control over their actions. There are approximately 356,000 inmates with serious mental illness in jails and state prisons(Torrey EF, Zdanowicz MT, Kennard AD, par. 1). Of that 356,000 only a small percentage actually receive help that they need. At least 83% of jail inmates with a mental illness did not have access to needed treatment(NAMI, 5). This staggering number yet only proves that tougher sentencing will create more criminals. When a mentally ill person does not receive the adequate help they deserve it will just make their actions repetitive because they are not learning right from wrong. Detaining them in jails or prisons creates an environment much like an asylum, which can lead to more serious issues.

Jails are a Danger to the Mentally Ill “When ‘I’ is replaced by ‘We’ even illness becomes wellness” -Unknown. There is a problem with the mentally ill being put in jail and the way they are treated in jail. Some people believe jail is a good place to hold the mentally ill because they are seen as a threat to society, but others believe they are getting the wrong treatment and jail is not a place for the mentally ill because it makes their illness worse and causes more problems. While some believe that the mental ill belong in jails, incarcerating these patients is determinantal to society because they are not receiving the proper treatment and the number of inmates is increasing. Without the proper treatment, a mentally ill inmate can become suicidal or threatening to other people.

Imagine millions of Americans being arrested for having a sickness or disease. What would the charges be? Hypertension? Diabetes? Cardiovascular disease? Asthma? This is essentially what has happened in the United States’ correctional system when it comes to the mentally ill. Instead of being treated for their illness, many persons with mental problems are receiving sentences – and harsher sentences at that (James & Glaze, 2006, p. 8-9). They are, in a sense, being charged with having a mentally illness.

In our county, state and federal correctional institutions across the United States, inmates are being imprisoned for awaiting trial, during trial or convicted for some crime. According to the Bureau of Justice (BJS, 2006), Fifty-six percent of inmates in a state prison and forty-five percent of inmates in a federal prison, suffer from or had a past of mental illness. In our American society, individuals who suffer from mental illness seem to be publicly perceived as a nuisance. This can be due to the fact that the media over the years consecutively scrutinized individuals who use the insanity defense in criminal trials. The insanity plea is negatively publicized if the defendant is using it in a high profiled case which their actions resulted in severe harm or death to another individual. In addition, the public perceives the use of this plea as a scapegoat for the defendant to avoid serving punishment in a penal environment. Mentally ill individuals, who are being civilly committed or charged with all levels of crimes, are being heavily prosecuted and sentenced into correctional facilities rather than psychiatric hospitals. This leads me to discuss the lack of treatment for patients in Bridgewater State Hospital (BSH) located in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. This three hundred and fifty bed facility houses Massachusetts most criminally insane. This facility is also use to evaluate patients/inmates for competency to stand trial and for those who get civilly

Since the mentally ill are unable to realize the need to take medication, their refusal usually results in crime and homelessness. As a result, their criminal actions cause their sentencing to jail where they are mistreated owing to insufficient treatment. Earley (2006) argues that the sentencing of the mentally ill and placing them in places that are not conducive for their condition is inhuman. Although they are sent to hospitals until they are stable enough to attend trial, they also do not get the right treatment for their mental illness. They stay in hospitals and upon proving to be stable; they

“The United States is the world’s leader of incarceration with 2.2 million people in jails and prisons; having an increase in population rate of 500% over the past thirty years “(The Sentencing Project, 2014). Of the 2.2 million individuals in these facilities, over one million are mentally ill persons. According to the National Institute of Corrections, mentally ill offenders have strained the correctional system. Since the deinstitutionalization of mentally ill from public hospitals in the 1990s, civilians with mental health issues are more likely to be free in the community, without any programming and are more likely to inflict in criminal behavior. The prison population rate for mentally ill offender makes up more than half the overall population. 78,000 in Federal prison, 705,600 in State prisons, and 479,000 in local jails.

In essence, it is quite clear that Australia’s criminal justice system has inherent problems in dealing with issues related to mentally ill patients. One of the major problems is likelihood of inappropriate sentences or unsuitable punishment for crimes. This problem is likely to arise from the legal requirement of the offenders to process a mainstream non-specialized Court. Secondly, offenders with

We can no longer ignore this on-going age old problem of dealing with the mentally ill by hiding those plagued, away in a prison cell to be forgotten. Despite the success of Dorothea Dix in solving the problems with adverse conditions in the prison system, we have come full circle and are currently back where we started over a century ago. There has been so much focus put on housing the mentally ill, we have all but forgotten about any type of treatment plans to help the overall growing problem. The handling of the mentally ill in the prison system was on a collision course with the Court. Most of the prison systems have one time or another violated prisoners’ rights under the 8th amendment, cruel and unusual punishment.

This "background study examines how individuals with mental illness are handled and treated in the criminal justice system and discusses the suggestions of unsatisfactory or inadequate care for these individuals. In particular, the main objectives are to review current practice in the processing of mentally ill offenders, assess the societal and economic costs associated with recidivism and insufficient care for this population, and highlight promising strategies to tackle challenges involved in the reintegration of mentally ill offenders into society".