The Pros And Cons Of Mentally Ill Offenders

Mentally ill offenders face many challenges while being incarcerated and after being released. Rehabilitation is effective on mentally ill offenders by reducing their symptoms of distress and improving their behavior.

Describe

This particular population of offenders are classified as people whose minds do not process in normal ways. Because of this, they have to be separated and be put into special facility centers or in a mental hospital. illnesses. It is estimated that about 50 percent of prison population suffers from some sort of mental illness. The most common mental illnesses that mostly make up this population are anxiety, antisocial personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder.

Statistics. Today, about 20 percent of prison inmates have some sort of serious mental illness. According to a 2015 study conducted by the Urban Institute, it is estimated that 56 percent of state prisoners, 45 percent of federal prisoners, and 64 percent of jail inmates have one or more type of mental disorder. Furthermore, it is said that 1 out of every 20 persons that are being kept behind bars, will be suffering from a mental illness. In essence,the most common mental

The type of crimes that these offenders commit can either be minor or violent crimes. It has been an issue on how people think that having a mental illness leads to violent crimes, when in reality not all of them commit violent crimes. An example of an offender committing these type of crimes would be Johnnie Baxstrom. Johnnie Baxstrom was a mentally ill offender who had committed numerous crimes throughout his life like drinking and property offenses. It wasn’t until October 21, 1958 where he committed a violent act by attacking and stabbing a police officer with a knife. In essence, according to studies people with severe psychological illnesses are more than 10 times more likely to be victims of violent crimes than the general