The Problem Of Violent Crimes

Mental Illness has been prevalent all throughout our history from Isaac Newton to Abraham Lincoln to Sylvia Plath and so on. These illnesses can be as minor as a slight bipolar disorder or as severe as schizophrenia. In recent years, mental illnesses are becoming more prevalent in our criminal justice systems than anywhere else. Mental illness is becoming an association with crime and based on the information that has been found, this paper will attempt to further define the problem of mental illness within our criminal justice system and offer alternatives or insights as to how to possibly help with this problem.

The conclusion had is there is no one solution for all of these individual cases however the author does state “The goal is to reach a balance between the rights of the patient to treatment and the responsibility to ensure public safety. The balance between patients’ rights, the right to treatment, and public safety is taken into account with the “treatment years” approach.” (Melamed). This balance between punishment and treatment will largely depend on the severity of the crime committed, and differ from case to case. The term “treatment years” refers to the duration of time spent with medical personnel helping subdue the condition expressed by the patient before they are deemed ready to be a part of society once more. The implication of juries that are more informed on the topics of mental health and are able to view that in the context of sentencing could also benefit a suitable and more understanding sentencing of jail and treatment time. The context of murder with punishment and treatment is more difficult to find a balance with than other less severe crimes. The perpetrator has shown the ability to commit the worst crime imaginable and has demonstrated their danger to society and capability to damage lives. With this taken into account punishment for the perpetrator needs to be

Violent crimes happen every day in America, yet the full scope of why and how they happen are not understood by many outside of law enforcement. But within the ranks of law enforcement and the criminal justice system itself, violent crimes are examined and analyzed at length to determine both how and why the incident occurred, as well as what can be done in the future to prevent a similar event from reoccurring. Investigators use multiple methods and seek various explanations as to why a violent crime occurs. This literature will look at some of those things that investigators try to sort out in the aftermath of a violent crime, such as the killer’s modus operandi and signatures, his psychology, relation to his victims, and how the effect of gender, race, or culture might impact his violent behavior.

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

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

It’s unnerving when someone with no criminal record commits a disturbingly violent crime but is it just as alarming if someone that has brain damage commits a crime? For most of us, myself included, we think criminals make a choice to break the law. In a challenging case piece, “The Brain on trial,” written by, Neuroscientist David Eagleman narrates several cases of mental illness criminals and the frightening events which took place August 1, 1966. Eagleman argues that human behavior cannot be separated from human biology and believes that criminals that suffer from a mental illness is the reason they commit an illegal act. Specifically, Eagleman argues that a “forward-thinking legal system” will respond to neuroscience’s increasing capacity to demonstrate the illusory nature of free will by developing “customized rehabilitation” for criminal behavior. Overall, Eagleman’s perspective and research, explains his thoughts and influences that cause individuals to perform certain acts, allow us to understand his proposal of a forward-thinking legal system and have rehabilitation for criminals with mental illnesses.

2. This criticism is on the moral basis and the consequences. This section suggests that the crime is of more importance, then the moral imperatives. It also addresses the way a criminal, who does plea insanity, should be trialed and punished for the crime. It is suggested, that the criminal should be convicted and the mental illness should be taken in consideration at the time of sentencing. If this method would be used by the court, it would allow the judge to determine the length of imprisonment, within a hospital prison, and the defendant would have to provide prove of improvement to the once dangerous behavior. Retrieved from; West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2 (2008).

An unfortunate reality in today’s society is the gross overrepresentation of persons with mental illness in the criminal justice system. According to Teplin (1984), persons with mental illness have been found to be almost twice as likely as individuals without any known mental illness to be arrested for their behavior in similar situations. Furthermore, several other studies have even shown that roughly half of all persons with a mental illness have been arrested at least once in their lifetime (Solomon & Draine, 1995; Walsh & Bricourt, 2003). Although these statistics seem to further support the common belief among many citizens that mentally ill persons are dangerous criminals, research indicates that the mentally ill are more often arrested for nonviolent minor charges (Cuellar, Snowden, & Ewing, 2007). Not surprisingly, a considerable portion of individuals within the criminal justice population have a diagnosable mental illness. According to Ditton (1999), 7% of federal inmates, 16% of state inmates, and 16% of jail inmates have a mental illness. These percentages may be inflated because persons with mental illness tend to spend longer periods of time in custody than those without a mental illness. Perhaps the greatest indication of the brokenness of the system is the fact that there are more mentally ill persons in jails and prisons today than in public psychiatric hospitals (Lamb& Bachrach, 2001). In fact, according to the

It has long been acknowledged that an offender who as a result to mental disorder, is incapable of understanding the nature and quality of a criminal act, or of recognizing that it was wrong, should not be convicted. Bill C-54 the Not Criminally Responsible Reform Act deals with the accused who has been found Criminally Responsible because of mental disorder. Not Criminally Responsible (NCR) is defined in Section 16 of the Canadian Criminal Code, stating that if someone is deemed NCR he or she cannot be held accountable for the offence they’ve committed, merely if at that time they were suffering through a mental disorder. The Bill will enact three main factors which will affect the mental disorder regime

Image a life where you have difficulty defending yourself and nobody can clearly understand you. Now visualize trying to convince others that you are innocent of a crime. Since the early 80s, more than sixty mentally ill criminals have been executed the US (Mental Illness on Death Row). This paper will discuss the relationship between the law and the challenges faced by mentally criminals from tries to appeals and execution. It provides examples of some of the more famous cases of the execution of the mentally ill and describes current legislative. But we would try answer the whether the mentally disabled criminals should be charged with a death penalty. Throughout this paper, we will use Borromeo 's definition of someone with mental issues. He stated "mental retardation is a lifelong condition of impaired or incomplete mental development..." ( Borromeo 178). Some examples of these illnesses include but are not limited to major depression, bipolar disorder, post traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder .

As mentioned by Howitt (2015), a mental illness can be defined as ‘a variety of psychological conditions in which there is a characteristic disabling and distressing impairment in some aspect of the psychological functioning of the individual.’ However, not all mental illnesses are found to be at risk of violent offending. Such illnesses as anxiety and depression are found to be less violent than mental health problems such as bipolar and schizophrenia, both of which will be included in the subset of mental health problems recognised as violent for the purpose of this essay. The relationship that has been identified between mental illness and crime has the ability to be misconceived through misclassification of violent mentally ill offenders and a variety of factors which have the ability to cloud the evidence of the

In the modern age, many problems can be solved quickly and effectively by having a thoughtful discussion with both belligerents. However, depending on the severity of the problem, the direness of the situation, and the time one has to react, a violent solution may be the only option. There are those who believe that violence should be abhorred and never resorted to, but those who think that are optimistic dreamers who are living in a false reality. Of course, if everyone shared their viewpoint, fights may never occur, but one has to accept the fact that some people will just refuse to stand down or accept something other than exactly what they want. This is why a level headed person with a strong moral compass needs to be able to recognize when a situation calls for a peaceful diplomatic solution, or, if diplomacy fails, a call to action. Violence can solve problems, is used in politics, employed by police, and is expressed through American superheroes. While violence is not the only way out of problems, sometimes it is the best reasonable solution. Those who succumb to the idea to use violence to achieve their goals will generally overcome their less confrontational challengers—overturning the results of elections, riding wildly over peaceful expressions of political opinion. Most of the time, the mere threat of violence is enough to induce submission. Violent groups can usually be defeated only by enemies who use superior force against them, which is why, in order to

Largely depending on where you live is how exposed you actually are to crime. After two decades of decline, violent crime in America is on the rise once again. In 2015, there were 15, 696 murders in the united states, which is ten percent higher than the previous year, this also contributes to a 3.9% increase in violent crime overall. Turning To Each Other is a nonprofit based in Indiana that offers homicide support, Walking Together functions to help give a presence and reduce violence in youth, and create more job opportunities for everyone in the community, including ex-offenders which will help to reduce poverty rates in cities with high violent crime rates. Turning To Each Other’s mission statement is to reduce violence and homicide through direct engagement, the promotion of education, as well as the fostering of employment opportunities within each community. Turning To Each Other’s vision statement is to implement sustainable programs and a presence in the community that helps to reduce violent crime in youth’s worldwide while creating opportunity and lifesaving moments. CHANGE SLIDE

The way that people analyze crime has evolved throughout history and has many different forms. Today, I am going to briefly explain some of the different theories that are used to study the subject of crime and criminality. What I will be evaluating these theories against will be small scale property crime such as theft.

In a neighborhood filled with hate, crime, and violence Troy, a 17 year old boy from the cold hard streets of North Philadelphia is just trying to make a name for himself and become the first athlete to make it big out of his neighborhood. His mother is very sick but keeps it hidden from him because Troy has big dreams to be recruited by a D-1 school and very close to make it out of the streets of north philly.Mind you no one has ever made it out of these streets, They’ve either been killed or thrown in jail. But Troy wants to overlook those statistics and rise of all the hate and make it to the NBA. The only way Troy gets away from all the violence and crimes is by playing basketball. It is his passion, he attends Barton high school