Mental Illness In Prisons

The dangers of doing nothing about the mentally ill.
Unchecked mentally ill patients that fall through the cracks have demonstrated to be a great risk to the safety of all in this great nation (Perez R., 2007). We have seen in these recent times that mental illness gripping the mind of a human being can cause some of the greatest loss of innocent human life than we have ever seen. Instead of addressing the real root causes of these major catastrophic events, we see droves of people in powerful leadership positions wanting to place the blame on the weapon used to cause carnage. The weapon used to kill mass amounts of people is not the problem, however, the problem is mental illness, and the lack of solutions to this age old problem that has

People with these types of illnesses have serious impairments in everyday functioning. Mentally ill people often display simple problem-solving skills and motivation to participate in their communities or family functions (Torrey, 1997). These illnesses can cause lack in relationships, irrational behavior, and violence, mental and physical deterioration leading to suicide (Salvato, A., 1994). Prisons are often poorly equipped to recognize the mental illnesses and too often blanket the problem as behavioral issues. Two to four percent in state prisons and 1.0 to 1.1 percent of jail inmates have schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder, according to the National Commission on Correctional Health Care’s (NCCHC) clinical guidelines for the treatment of schizophrenia in correctional institutions. The guidelines also cite the fact that many of these mentally ill inmates have other risk factors associated with a higher incidence of violent behavior, such as substance abuse, neurological impairment, and poor impulse control (NCCHC). One of every eight state prisoners was receiving mental health therapy or counseling services in mid-2000 (Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report: Mental Health Treatment in State Prisons, 2000), and nearly 10 percent were receiving psychotropic medications, such as antidepressants, stimulant,

The 8th Amendment to the US Constitution that protects against, “Cruel and Unusual Punishment” is often violated by the prisons system. The Americans Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act are the two most commonly ignored rights mentally ill inmates inadvertently endure. Of the inmates in solitary confinement, 30% or more suffer from a mental illness. The (ADA) is supposed to protect mentally ill inmates from discrimination on the basis of their disability. Most prisons, due to lack or ill-equipped staff or facilities to handle severe mentally ill inmates, often slip into gross negligence or violations of basic constitutional rights. Examples of these violations are when they isolate mentally ill inmates directly because of their actual mental illness, prolong mentally ill inmates in solitary confinement causing deterioration, or failure to provide access to aids, benefits, or services to the mentally ill inmates (Knowles, 2015). The United States incarcerates more prisoners in solitary confinement than any other country in the world an estimated 80,000 prisoners nationwide (Knowles, 2015). This extreme form of isolation often lasts for years and sometimes decades. By contrast, the United Kingdom confines just 500 prisoners in isolation, and only for limited periods of time (Jacobi J. V., 2005). The United States also imprisons a disproportionate number of mentally ill inmates in solitary confinement, also