Preview

Essay On Mental Illness In Prison

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
509 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On Mental Illness In Prison
According to some estimates, 50% of the prison population suffers from mental illness. Most of the inmates don’t remember the crime that they committed. As a consequence, each year thousands of mentally ill offenders are sent to prison where they poorly equipped to treat them. These inmates are placed in solitarily confinement, and they serve longer sentences than the other inmates and they cost the city three times as much as other inmates. The most common mental illness in the prison is anxiety, anti-social personal disorder, post-traumatic disorder, and bipolar disorder.
In 1998, 238,000 mentally ill offenders were incarcerated in the prisons and jails. State prison inmates with a mental condition were more likely to be incarcerated for violent offenses than other inmates for being under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the offense. Some of these offenders might have been homeless and lived on the dangerous streets before they were incarcerated. They were incarcerated because they might have committed murder, sexually assaulted
…show more content…
He died at the age of 38 and he only weighed 75 pounds. While he was incarcerated in Baraga, Michigan, they found out that he had this mental illness. Mr. McManus would cover himself in chewed food and feces according to the prison staff. They also said that he would refuse to eat. The prison did not have a psychiatry department and Mr. McManus only had contact with the psychologist through the cell door. When he became disruptive they would cut his water supply and limit his food and did not allow him to receive the treatment that he needed. Before his dead the guards pepper-sprayed him because he did not comply with them to make sure he was not armed. His death could have been prevented if they wouldn’t have cut his water supply and limited his

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Torrey, E.F., Zdanowicz, M.T., Kennard, A.D., Lamb, H.R., Eslinger, D.F., Biasotti, M.I., Fuller, D.A. (2014). The treatment of persons with mental illness in prisons and jails: A state survey. Arlington, VA: Treatment Advocacy Center.…

    • 187 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The elimination of state mental hospitals was not based on human need, but rather a political policy decision. The shortage of mental institutions creates a shift in the role of prison systems and presents several different issues for mentally ill inmates. The inmates are not medically treated in…

    • 252 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The book Solitary: The Inside Story of Supermax Isolation and How We Can Abolish It divides into three parts: “Harsh Prison Conditions,” “The Human Damage,” and “The Alternative to Solitary.” In the first section, Terry Allen Kupers, the author, explores the rises of supermax prisons, the normalization of long-term solitary confinement and throughout, he explores how isolation damages people’s psyches and about what race violence and gender has to do with supermax confinement. In the final section, Kupers requests for a rehabilitative attitude among all prison staff (as well as legislators and the public), a plan to keep individuals with severe mental illnesses out of jails and prisons and enhance methods of dealing with disturbed or disruptive prisoners. A few of Kupers’ recommendations include a massive reduction of the prison population, concurrent upgrading of mental health and…

    • 403 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The United States prison system is notorious for the way it treats its inmates. There are so many theories, and facts to back up the claim that the prison system is not working the way it was intended to be, and it continues to be a growing issue that the government is not addressing. Further, within the already complicated prison system, there is another issue. Solitary confinement, which was originally supposed to be used as a short term punishment within prisons, or jails, has now become an integrated part of prison life (Edge, 2014). Solitary Nation, is 2014 documentary highlights the damages that solitary confinement is doing to people (Edge, 2014). Individuals whom have not shown any signs of degrading mental health come out of segregation, or as the inmates call it, “seg,” disturbed (Edge, 2014).…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The author of B.J.S statistics Doris J. James provides us with “78,800 in federal prisoners, including 705,600 state prisoners’ inmates had a mental problem which means 56% of state prisoners and 45% of federal. Many jail inmates suffer from psychotic disorder which indicates delusions and hallucinations, inmates believe that other people are controlling their brain or thoughts. Prison inmates coming out and in out of jail unhealthy, becomes a big part for U.S citizens and inmates family members, In the year of August 2014 Illinois prison increases tax payers by being billed $17.8 billion for exanimating , treating and housing inmates.…

    • 788 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mentally ill offenders are a growing population in the prison system and different actions are needed to treat, aid, and skillfully support these people. Today these offenders expenses in medical and special care escalate as well as people being trained to care for these individuals. Furthermore how do these offenders act inside the prisons once incarcerated and what characteristics are these offenders categorized…

    • 67 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Mental Ill in Prison

    • 2063 Words
    • 9 Pages

    There is a large sum of groups that populate prisons, from offenders with AIDS to youthful offenders usually under the age of 25. The population of offenders that I will be discussing is the group of the mentally ill in prisons. Mentally ill offenders are individuals with mental disorders, according to NAMI.org (National Alliance on Mental Illness), a mental illness is “...a medical condition that disrupts a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life.” such a condition is capable of making a person commit a crime with little to no remorse at the time of the crime. Some mental disorders can also make a person commit a crime without them knowing so. People with dementia disorders such as Alzheimer disease, that breaks down a person’s way of thinking and behavior as well as memory dysfunctions, can make them believe that by doing something bad, such as committing a murder crime of an intruder on their home would be the right thing to so in self-defense and protecting their family. However that intruder may not actually be an intruder at all, it could be their own family member that the mental disorder completely wiped out temporarily from the persons memory. Not all crimes are as follows though, someone could be simply having a break down and temporarily lose their sanity and wreak havoc in a manner that disrupts the law.…

    • 2063 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Recidivism In Jails

    • 197 Words
    • 1 Page

    The overall topic of my research paper is mental illness in jails. The population of individuals with a mental illness in jail with a mental illness is no small number by any means and the rate of individuals with a disability that are re-offenders is not compact either.…

    • 197 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The New Asylum

    • 1183 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Frontline episode “The New Asylums”, dove into the crisis mentally ill inmates face in the psychiatric ward in Ohio state prisons. The episode shows us the conditions and every day lives of mentally ill patients in Ohio state prisons, and explains how these inmates got to this point. It appeared that most of these prisoners should have been patients in an institute of some sort, out in society, but unfortunately due to whatever circumstances they ended up in prison. According to the episode, most of the inmates end up in prison due to them not coping with the outside world on their own. Prior to becoming imprisoned, the inmates had difficulties dealing with the outside world. Mainly due to lack of necessary psychiatric treatment, the soon to be inmates would get arrested for things such as violent behavior, robbery, and rape. This behavior would cause them to go to jail, and after repeated offenses they end up falling into prison.…

    • 1183 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Recidivism In Prisons

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The documentary, The Released, described the challenges those with mental illness face when they are released from prison. In most cases, the inmates were unable to break the cycle of recidivism. The high rate of recidivism within the mentally ill prison population is caused by different factors. One factor that contributes to the high rate is a lack of support, which as a result, may lead to an increased chance of a relapse. Also, the challenge of reintegrating back into the world can be even more difficult due to the person’s mental illness. Once the offenders are released, they face extra obstacles of trying to find a place to leave and a job. All of these factors, together, cause the high recidivism rate for mentally ill offenders.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    We call America the land of the free truth is no one is free. The United States has had the highest incarceration rates compared to other countries all around the world. Many illegal activities and narcotics play a huge role to becoming incarcerated. We’re born into a violent society and have no other choice but to live with it. Crime, violence, drugs and poverty are around us on a daily basis and young children see these things and think it’s normal. By certain individuals acting in ways they shouldn’t in front of young children will cause problems for us in the future. This essay will include articles giving us facts and answers on our incarceration practices and what we do to our inmates on the inside. The “Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the law online” gives us insight on out mentally ill inmates and attempts to give us solutions when it comes to people who are mentally ill and aren’t completely there. Also an article written by Chettiar Inimai and their colleagues go in-depth on how New York City reduced mass incarceration hence the title of the article.…

    • 1455 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    U. S. corrections professionals can solve the problem of exponential growth in state prison systems by allowing prisoners to receive the help that he or she needs while in prison. If prisoners were treated for his or her mental illness, alcohol dependency, or drug addiction, then people would not be repeat offenders. People would be arrested the first time, receive help or treatment while there, and then not go back to prison. The corrections…

    • 695 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    From overcrowding, various forms of violence, enforced solitude, lack of privacy, concerns about the future, and inadequate health services in prisons its no secret that the mentally ill are mistreated and have fallen through the cracks…

    • 857 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mental illness poses many obstacles in rehabilitation. For instance, mental illness is not something that can be completely cured. The symptoms can be lessened, and a mentally ill person may be able to live a productive life if they receive treatment and /or medication. However, they will still have diagnoses of mental illness. Rehabilitation of mental ill inmates should consist of helping the individual to recover from lost skill, coping with everyday demands, and restoring broken relationships. The rehabilitation may also have to focus on specific issues such as substance abuse. A constraint of rehabilitation in the correctional system is the emphasis that are placed on punishment. The focus on punishment makes it difficult to develop effective rehabilitation programs. (Benson, 2003.).…

    • 516 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Criminal justice issues among individuals with mental health and substance use conditions is a growing problem. This paper examines mental health issues as it relates to the criminal justice system and specifically how mental health and the mentally ill can play a role in the crime. Different factors can become a problem with mental health illness and the criminal justice system. Mental health illness can contribute to jail and prison overcrowding, high crime rates, drug addiction, and many other problems. After the wide deinstitutionalization of state hospitals, jails and prisons have seen an increase in the number and percentage of individuals with mental health and substance use. Today, the largest U.S. jails and prisons hold more people…

    • 3605 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays