The Mentally Ill Offenders Should Be Held Accountable For Their Actions

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

While most people are concerned and want violent offenders punished and thrown in prison (which is a valid concern), it is rare that violent acts are committed by the mentally ill. For those crimes the mentally ill commits, prison may not always be the right answer; instead, proper treatment and rehabilitation would be much better. In general, the statement has always been made that the

Punishment of the mentally ill does not promote retribution because the ill offender lacks free will because they do not affirmatively choose to commit a crime in the same way in which a sane offender decides to commit a crime. Additionally, punishment of the mentally ill precludes the deterrence of others because sane would-be wrongdoers cannot identify with the mentally ill who are punished and are, therefore, not deterred from committing a crime. Even though it is unconstitutional to impose the death penalty on mentally ill offenders, the U.S. still permits the execution of the mentally

While mass shootings will almost always make the news, and nine times out of ten involve an individual that is mentally ill getting their hands on a gun. Take a look at the movie theater incident, Sandy Hook, and the latest school shooting in Oregon, all these shooters were mentally ill and yet somehow they acquired a firearm. Should we fault the mental health system or

The recent increase in emergency 9-1-1 calls involving mentally ill persons has heightened the awareness of the Criminal Justice System. Across the nation, law enforcement encounters with mentally ill persons have become more frequent, and the use of deadly force against mentally ill persons has increased. Since the deinstitutionalization of the mental health system, law enforcement officials have been tasked with controlling deviant and sometimes criminal behavior of persons who suffer from mental illness. As a result, law enforcement agencies have implemented crisis intervention training (CIT) and diversion tactics due to the numerous challenges faced when serving the mentally ill. Major deficiencies in the mental health system and State legislations have hindered progressive efforts towards assisting mentally ill persons. With the dramatic consequences associated with untreated mental illness, it is certain that law enforcement officers will experience an encounter requiring knowledge, specialized training, and the ability to build collaborative partnerships.

Each year defendants claim to be mentally insane so they may receive medical treatment for their illness instead of serving jail or prison time. It is my belief that all mentally ill citizens should have the right to be medically treated. Although, not all of these people should be allowed back into society after they have reached their sanity. Some extreme cases such as the case of John Wayne Gacy who was proven insane should still never be let back onto the public streets. John Wayne Gacy murdered and raped 33 young men from the Chicago area then plead and Gacy was found insane. Thankfully Gacy’s insanity was ignored and he was sentenced to death. Some cases of insanity should be sentenced properly with treatment after being proven insane by a psychiatric team, but extreme cases should still be treated the same as any sane person.

Criminals with mental disorders should be held accountable for their actions and receive adequate punishment up to and including the death penalty. If they’re well enough to commit the crime that someone without a mental disorder can commit they should get the same punishment. Inmates with mental disorders are more likely to disrupt day to day prison activity, leading to needing more and more prison guards to keep the order. An estimated 283,000 prisoners are spared from death row because of a mental disorder. With that information it isn’t hard to believe that there is a big problem with overcrowding and over population. Not every single inmate is

Have you ever been dealt a dilemma were you knew that someone needed your help but you were also aware that you where not the individual with the capability of helping. This was the situation with my friend Dan; he and I went to high school together and were good friends. After graduation Dan went on to obtain a dual degree in mathematics and physics from Cal Berkeley, and was on the first U.S. table tennis team to go to china in the early 1970's. I remember being so proud of him, and knew without any doubt that he would live a very successful life. However Dan began to hear voices, gradually deteriorated, and ended up living in his parent's garage. Here are two people in their 80's trying to live

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.

Serial murders are events that can be categorized as three or more kills by one particular person. Although the question society as a whole still has is why would someone become this type of person and how. Some researchers have started looking into serial killers who have some brain disorders like autism, ASD, ADHD, and Asperger’s. “One researcher suggested that Autistic Psychopathy may underlie the motivation of some of these serial killers. He suggests a new diagnosis Criminal Autistic Psychopathy, a subcategory of Asperger's syndrome. He has also explored head injury as it has been shown that this is more prevalent in serial killers, with one study suggesting that one in four serial killers had suffered

Another point that Gallagher brings up is that mental health is not always the motive for murder. Not every mentally ill person wants to see the world burn, and many don’t even have a vengeful agends.It is true however that 23% of mass shooters have sought out help for mental illness and over 50% of shooters have shown signs of mental troubles, but that does not mean that all killers Are schizophrenics guided by the voices in their head (Gallagher 3 & 7).

Mental illnesses are extremely pricy and dangerous. The staff has to be extra cautions with mentally disabled prisoners because they are more dangerous. The prison system does not have enough money to be able to maintain high-risk prisoners. “The average cost of keeping an older inmate incarcerated is about $69,000 a year”(Regan) it’s an outrageous amount of money. A Tennessee State prison gave Dr. Regan, Alderson, and Dr. William Regan gave data on older inmates who had mental illnesses. The study focused on the population and their mental disorder and the crime committed. 671 prisoners where tested in the study and 109 people where diagnosed with a mental illness: Out of the 109 people with a mental disorder only 13% where women and 87% where men. The most common crime for both genders with a mental disorder was murder. Women who committed murder suffered from depression illness. Men who committed crime in their older age committed sex crimes and where diagnosed with dementia. Our prisons are not equipped to be able to handle mentally disable prisoners. Mentally disorder people need to be in a mental house that can help them. It is not right to incarcerate someone who is sick.

The mentally ill have not been allowed basic human rights in most of history. The methods of treatment in the early ages ranged from drilling their skulls to exorcisms. They were usually left to their family’s care and were hidden, abused, restrained, and even abandoned. They were isolated and treated as if they had done something wrong when nothing was their fault. Even today, the mentally ill are ridiculed and not given proper treatment whether it be in asylums, prison, and even general society. There is no excuse for this mistreatment of the mentally ill, but there might be an explanation.

People with mental issues should not be accountable for their actions because they cannot control themselves. (text 1 paragraph 6) “At the end of 2011 The Royal Society published a report stating that in the USA, neurological or behavioural

Humans are obedient and disobedient at the same time. Nonetheless, we like to do things our way. If we feel challenged, we think that there is always a way to get past that. We like to think of ourselves as great and that we do not make mistakes. Once we do make a mistake or do something wrong, we point fingers. This is another reason why we blame the mentally ill for mass casualties.