Recommended: Effects of imprisonment on inmates
Furthermore, the failure to address mental health needs within the prison system exacerbates these issues. The Equal Justice Initiative reveals that more than half of all Americans in prison or jail have a mental illness. Prison officials often fail to provide correct treatment, resorting to physical force and solitary confinement, which can worsen mental health problems. The Equal Justice Initiative reveals, “More than half of all Americans in prison or jail have a mental illness. Prison officials often fail to provide appropriate treatment for people whose behavior is difficult to manage, instead resorting to physical force and solitary confinement, which can aggravate mental health problems.”
Abstract: This paper provides an introduction to the social impact of the collateral consequences (the families left behind) of mass incarceration. The reading will include thoughts from sociological perspectives and empirical studies that focus on the consequences incarceration and re-entry have on the striving family left behind. Partners and families of felons suffer from the system in place that punishes, rather than “corrects,” criminal behavior. Collateral Consequences Patience Kabwasa Prof. Laura Howe Soc 231-C21 May 1, 2014 Collateral Consequences
Mass incarceration is a phenomenon described by Ta Nehisi-Coates as a way to explain the increase in incarcerated people in the United States over the past 40 years. This phenomenon can be traced back most obviously to the early 70s, when Nixon started his presidential term (DRUGPOLICY.ORG). Nixon came into presidency when the rebellious 60s were starting to really pose a threat to the government of the United States. His two main enemies were the major proponents of revolution: liberals against the violence of Vietnam and black people (DRUGPOLICY.ORG). He understood that these groups, but especially the poor black communities, depended on black market drug trade for a lot of their income and therefore found an extremely effective way to quell
Post Incarceration Syndrome, also known as PICS, is the set of symptoms that arises in recently released prisoners and is caused by being incarcerated for a long period of time with punishment and little to no opportunities to make transition out of prison easier. PICS arises most often in those that were subject to abuse while incarcerated. PICS is a mix of mental disorders, and the five clusters of symptoms include Institutionalized Personality Traits, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Antisocial Personality Traits, Social-Sensory Deprivation Syndrome, and Substance Abuse Disorders. PICS affects more than just those suffering from it personally, it can severely affect those around them as well. Many of those that suffer from PICS end up being
War on drugs, a campaign for the prohibition of drugs using military aid and military intervention gave birth to mass incarceration. Unfortunately, the consequences of this campaign targeted minorities and people of color, who are in disadvantage. Mass incarceration promotes devastating effects in society, such as racial inequality and poverty. Michelle Alexander, a civil rights litigator and legal scholar is the author of “The New Jim Crow” Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. This book purposed to educate people about of mass incarceration that originated due to the war on the drug's movement, as well as to point out the racist system.
Studies have shown that women have reported histories of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse, more than men which contribute to their mental instability. In 2005, 73.1 percent of women in state prisons had a mental health problem (Daniel, 2007). 80 percent of incarcerated women meet the criteria for at least one lifetime psychiatric disorder (Daniel, 2007). Substance abuse, dependence, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression appear to be the most common mental health problems for female inmates (Daniel, 2007). Incarcerated women have also shown a strong link between childhood abuse and adult mental health problems.
The study of prison subcultures investigates the way prisoners adjust to prison, scholars found that the subculture of women 's prisons was much different compare to the violent and predatory structure of the contemporary male prison. Women who did not define themselves as serious criminals prior to prison continued to hold conventional behaviors and attitudes during their imprisonment, however women who adapted to prison life became heavily invested in a prison based identity. The prison culture among women was tied to family, gender expectations of sexuality and relationships. Scholars Ward and Kassebaum study of Sex and Social Structure in the prison showed that depending on their prison term it made women display feelings of anxiety, as
Introduction A late time of mass incarceration has prompted incredible rates of detainment in the United States, especially among probably the most helpless and minimized groups. Given the rising social and financial expenses of detainment and firm open spending plans, this pattern is starting to switch (Petersilia and Cullen, 2014). Toward the commencement of the 21st century, the United States ends up confronting the huge test of decarcerating America, which is in the meantime an enormous open door. Through decarceration, the lives of a vast number of individuals can be immensely enhanced, and the country all in all can desert this limited and dishonorable time of mass detainment.
The study also says that among female inmates one third of them have some type of mental disorder. In prisons and jails, prisoners sit in their cells majority
In the 1970s the United States entered the era known as mass incarceration, the byproduct of the drug war. The War on Drugs changed how society handled drug dependency, diverting the problem from public health to criminal justice. Since the Nixon administration, the political stance on being tough on crime has resulted in various laws and policing practices that heavily criminalized drugs to point in which the prison population in the United States increased from 300,000 people in 1972 to 2.3 million today (Barish, DuVernay, Averick & DuVernay, 2016). The epidemic of mass incarceration corresponds to a variety of public health issues such as mental illness, increased violence within society, increased incidence of addictions, and increased incidence of chronic illnesses (Drucker, 2013).
Ten percent of men had major depression, 65 percent had a personality disorder and 47 percent had an anti-social personality disorder. Out of the women who were incarcerated, four percent had psychosis, 42 percent had a personality disorder and 12 percent had major depression. Many of those incarcerated also suffered from illnesses such as PTSD, TBI's, ADHD and intellectual disabilities (Anasseril, 2007). In 2008 there was about 2,310,984 individuals in jails, federal and state prisons in the United States. Out of this number, about 231,000 prisoners had a severe mental illness.
The biggest challenge that elderly inmates pose is the cost to house them. With it being double, triple, and even quadruple the cost than the traditional prisoner to house, it puts a financial burden on the prison systems. Other challenges that elderly inmates pose are protecting them from other inmates because they cannot defend themselves and to ensure they are receiving all of their required health care. It is expected that for every elderly inmate, they will have at the minimum “three chronic illnesses” (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015, p. 405). Correctional institutions across the country also struggle with being in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act because they have to ensure that the elderly inmates have all of the
The high incarceration rate of Black Americans has pervasive and chronically negative stigmas regarding the social and economic vitality of the Black American community, such as a lack of democratic participation and violence within urban communities (Burris-Kitchen & Burris, 2011). According to Forman Jr. (2012), some of 5 the negative affects of systemic racism of Black Americans born into the hip-hop generation who have been convicted include the ineligibility of public assistance programs such as health care, food stamps, public housing, student loans, and some employment opportunities. Additionally, many of the individuals suffering from the stigma of incarceration come from backgrounds of disadvantage such as single parent homes, low
Prisons’ general health services should include regular assessment for prisoners,
According to current estimates, at least half of all female prisoners in America have experienced some form of sexual abuse during their time behind bars. Within the U.S., Prison violence is all too common. Prison abuse in America refers to the mistreatment, neglect, and violation of the human rights of incarcerated individuals within the country's correctional facilities. This can occur in many forms, including physical abuse, sexual assault, inadequate medical care, or denial of basic needs like food and water. Clearly, abuse in American prisons is abundant.
