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Mental Illness In Prison Essay

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The debate surrounding mental illness is heavily discussed in society. Discussion revolving around whether people with mental illness need to be punished for breaking the law or, instead, are provided with an alternative route to help. According to the CPS, a mental health condition may be used as a defence, but it does not necessarily mean that this will affect the decision to prosecute. (CPS, 2019: Online). To delve into mental illness, one must first understand what it is. Mental health is something that everyone suffers from sometimes. Mental illnesses, however, can stem from trauma or a running history of mental health problems. Mental illness can be helped but will always remain a constant in an individual's life. Therefore, mental health …show more content…

Such as the lack of help that those with mental illness face, whether in prison or not. Applying this to the justice system, however, many mentally unwell prisoners are left in prison instead of being given urgent help by being transferred to mental health hospitals, further deteriorating their mental health (CJJI, 2021; Online). The sparse incentive to help those with mental illness results in a downfall in individuals' mental health; rehabilitation is a necessary step to improve the criminal justice system, but it is not up to date with this helping hand for offenders who have obvious signs of mental illness. The level of individuals not mentally well will be dealt with not by the health system, but the penal system is prominent as resources are slim (Law Commission, 2013; Online). Prisons do not have the appropriate services to deal with offenders suffering, but offering hospitalization is a last resort that many do not get the opportunity to use. This lack of rehabilitation, paired with the fact that the media is so quick to villainize mental illness as something violent and out of control, does not offer relief to those suffering from such illnesses. Therefore, punishment should not be the first decision unless an offender's mental illness has played no part in their

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Even after release, the counterproductive, deeply internalized patterns learned in prison are still present (Haney, 2002). In addition, the rate of incarceration of mentally ill individuals is alarming. Suspects will mental and developmental disorders are often unfairly sent to prison without regard to their conditions, leaving them helpless. Mentally ill inmates have an even more difficult time adjusting to life in prison, leaving them at an even higher risk for psychological

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The innocent people who have severe mental illness might finally have an opportunity to become viable members of society through rehabilitation. This plea may also shed light on the severity and seriousness that mental illness plays in our communities as these individuals are of great

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Again, everyone must gain an understanding of the mentally ill and how the control we have they have lost. In light of all that has been discussed, there is indeed a link that ties mental illness, violence, and crime together. In addition, researchers show that nearly all the criminal cases involve some type of mental, illness. However, it has been found that most cases are those in which a person with schizophrenia has committed. The questioner may be asked what well schizophrenia is, according to Jay Haley schizophrenic internal processes are often described in terms of ego weakness, primitive logic, or dissociated thinking (1).

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It seems as if we cannot go a day without seeing news stations reporting stories involving criminal behavior; crime is everywhere, it is all around us. We have become so accustomed to the prevalence of crime in our streets that we can no longer distinguish a criminal from a law-abiding citizen, and we live our lives in fear that we will become a victim. Although we cannot pick out a criminal from a group of people, typically we can recognize when someone is affected by a severe mental illness. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, “Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—43.8 million, or 18.5%—experiences mental illness in a given year.”

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“My work with the poor and incarcerated has persuaded me that the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice.” (Stevenson 18) The wrongful convictions of people with mental health issues in the justice system are widely discussed in the book ‘Just Mercy’. In the chapter ‘Mitigation’, Stevenson’s focal point is on the mistreatment and injustices that mentally ill people endure while in the system. This chapter in particular opened my eyes to the struggle these people face, ways we can help to prevent it, and how I have started seeing it in my everyday life.

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Showing empathy for those with mental illnesses can help the justice system develop a suitable verdict and improve the situation for those

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Analysis Evaluation The article How Mental Illness is Misrepresented in the Media, written by Kirsten Fawcett, had the main idea of people with a mental illness are not second class citizens, but just typical humans. Along with this, she talks about the way the mainstream media manipulates with the American people’s minds. She disproves many stereotypes that people with mental illness are thought to have. Such as, that “People with mental illnesses are criminals, childish, or not capable of recovering” (Fawcett, 2015)

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Many people diagnosed with mental illness are disgusted by the way the media portrays mental illness because it is romanticized and over exaggerated. Mental illness is most commonly portrayed in the horror genre of movies, as the killer always is “insane” or “psycho.” Mentally ill people do commit crimes, but the way they are portrayed is over-sensationalized to make it dramatic. The “insane” people always try to kill innocent people with no motive other than a lust for blood. But even though tragedies like this do happen, they are not as sensationalized as media makes it out to be.

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Mentally ill prisoners in prison should be well taken care of. These offender need more care than those without a mental illness due to the illness they have they could hurting innocents civilian and guards or other prisoners like themselves or even themselves. Mentally ill offender need more medicines, Improve conditions, and the cost to keep them. Medicines Mentally ill offenders need as much more medicine than inmates without a mental illness,

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What can be done The monitoring, prevention and treatment of mental disorders, as well as the promotion of good mental health, are part of the public health goals in prisons. According to World Health Organization (2017), even in resource-limited countries, measures can be taken to improve the mental health of prisoners and prison staffs, which can be adapted to the country’s cultural, social, political and economic environment (WHO, 2017). In the British prisons, some practices and policies have also been implemented, which reflect the positive impacts of prisoners’ mental health and wellbeing. Provide prisoners with appropriate mental health treatment and care.

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It is never someone's fault that they are mentally ill, and yet today's society makes these human beings feel like pariahs. This social stigma is just one of the many factors that contribute to America's broken mental health system. Those suffering from a mental illness in the United States are faced with few options in terms of getting diagnosed and seeking treatment. Our government has exercised the absolute minimum of their powers towards addressing this issue. Studies have shown that 1 in 6 American adults are currently living with a mental illness, and

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More people get incarcerated for non-violent crimes and crimes caused by mental illnesses or drug abuse (Webb, 2009) and because these people get put in regular prisons, instead of in mental health facilities or facilities to help against drug addiction, where they could be treated to further prevent crimes driven by their illness (Webb, 2009), the prisons get overfilled and cannot hold the more ‘important’ prisoners that needed to be locked away from the public. A strong link of the criminal justice process is that the system tries to keep it fair for everyone. Every defendant has the right to an attorney so they can be defended properly and fairly and “Only judges who are adequately informed about a case can effectively control the proceedings and examine evidence” (Tochilovsky, 2002) It is also important for the criminal justice system that those involved show discretion and although this is not always the case, discretion by the judges, police, etc.

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