Troublesome Offenders, Undeserving Patients: Summary

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The volume begins with a brief overview and a philosophical discussion of whether individuals with mental illness should be punished. For example, chapter three, Troublesome Offenders, Undeserving Patients?, develops both the argument that individuals with mental health needs have the right to be punished and the argument that they have the right not to be punished. The book progresses by explaining why it may be difficult for individuals with mental illness to break away from committing crime, the misleading portrayal of substance abuse when diagnosing mental health disorders, and the roles of service providers working in multiple environments relating to the mental health field.

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