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The Pros And Cons Of Prisoners In Prison

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When the word “prisoner” is heard the first thing that comes to mind is a person who did something horrible. However, not all prisoners or did horrible things, like murder, to put themselves in prison. Most prisoners were incarcerated for drug trafficking, bank robbery, or maybe being in the wrong place at the wrong time. These individuals are often sentenced for periods of ten years or more. During their incarceration and as the prisoners begin to age they will get sick. But the unfortunate thing for prisoners, is that they aren’t always allowed the health care services they need for maintenance and improvement of physical and mental health while incarcerated. The purpose of this research paper is explore and discuss the reasons why prisoners …show more content…

According to the article, Medical Problems of State and Federal Prisoners and Jail Inmates, written by Maruschak, Berzofsky, Unangst 2011-12, “Chronic conditions include cancer, high blood pressure, stroke-related problems, diabetes, heart-related problems, kidney-related problems, arthritis, asthma, and cirrhosis of the liver.” They also state that, “Twenty-one percent of prisoners and 14% of jail inmates reported ever having an infectious disease, including tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).” Additionally, they inform us that “About 1% of prisoners and jail inmates who had been tested for HIV reported being HIV positive” Maruschak, Berzofsky, Unangst. Due to inmate’s exposure to other prisoners who have infectious diseases they are susceptible to infection themselves. Therefore, these people will more than likely not survive their sentencings without some type of …show more content…

One article mentions that, “mental health problems are common in prison, with high rates of mental illness and personality disorder creating significant needs for invention from both primary care and specialist mental health services” (Senior 2008). Meaning that these prisoners may become violent and very uncooperative without medication. According to the article, The Work of Prison Doctors written by Richard Smith, he states “Doctors are also involved in punishment within the prisons. Doctors will often be called when a prisoner becomes violent and aggressive.” He also mentions that, “The discipline officers will want the doctor’s opinion on whether the prisoner is mentally ill, and they may also want the doctor to give the prisoner ‘something to quieten him down’” (Smith 1984). He also discusses how violent patients would be restrained with a straight jacket or put into a strip cell. This type of discipline would only make the prisoners act more aggressively in the long run. Which makes it hard for the physicians to administer the medication properly without hurting the prisoner or

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The author brings his personal experience as an md in a prison and in a hospital ward as evidence of his claims. He admits that he is viewing this entire matter from the only

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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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This quote underscores the failure of the prison system to address the mental health needs of incarcerated individuals. The statistics about the high rates of mental illness among prisoners emphasizes the lack of mental health care in prisons. The reliance on physical force and solitary confinement as means of managing behavior further worsen mental

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The. https://www.mdpi.com/2039-7283/13/1/1. The purpose of the article, Depression in Inmates, analyzes how depression rates in prisons can be caused by various factors, such as poor environmental conditions, for instance, a small room, lack of light, and a lack of privacy. In addition to emotional factors such as interpersonal relationships, limited mental health resources, and substance abuse. The author's intent in research is to show how a lack of mental health resources can increase depression rates in prisons.

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“There are three times as many mentally ill in U.S. prisons as in the country 's mental health hospitals, suffering from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression, among other illnesses,” (Fellner, 2004). This statistic is heart shattering, when knowing so many helpless individuals are not getting assistance with their medical complications. Inexperienced staff, unsatisfactory specialized facilities, and limited programs leave prisoners without the treatment they need. This is why mentally ill individuals need treatment. When a mentally ill person is sentenced without the insanity plea, he or she is not getting the medical attention needed.

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Moreover, elderly prisoners are additionally a major obstacle that correctional administrators are confronted with. Prison officials are unable to give states of control that address the issues and regard the privileges of their elderly detainees. They are likewise poorly arranged, without the assets, plans, responsibility, and support from chose authorities, to deal with the significantly more noteworthy quantities of more seasoned detainees anticipated for the future, excepting genuinely necessary changes to cruel "tough on crime" laws that stretched sentences and decreased or wiped out open doors for parole or early discharge (Old Behind Bars, 2016). One outstanding issue is their health. Elderly prisoners are confronted with intellectual issues that happen quickly without the best possible analysis.

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The elements necessary to control the use of force in prisons are well known. To prevent abuse, the use of force must be controlled through (1) clear policies; (2) meaningful and constant supervision of all uses of force; (3) timely and truthful reporting of all uses of force by the officer involved and anyone who witnessed the incident; (4) an accurate and unbiased investigation into allegations of excessive force; and (5) the consistent imposition of progressive and proportional discipline when excessive force is used or when it is not reported. A breakdown in any one of these components will inevitably lead to

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Therefore without these medicines it will be much difficult to release them to the hand of society. Medical cost: As the population of the prisons keep growing the more expensive the medical finances with cost. As with drug and metal offenders are in prison you will need to take care of them with medicines to help them out. As stated before these offender with “special needs” need more attention than other inmates or offenders.

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Imprisonment for women can be very difficult for one to cope with due to all the negative and unhealthy attributes that come along with it. The health of women prisoners is the poor; the evident inequalities pose both a challenge and an opportunity for the health systems. Characteristics of prison populations and the disproportionate prevalence of health problems in prison should make prison health a matter of public health importance. More importantly, women prisoners constitute a minority within all prison systems and their special health needs are frequently neglected. The current provision of health care for imprisoned women fails to meet their needs and is, in too many cases, far short of what is required by human rights.

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The United States houses the largest number of incarcerated adults in the world, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that 705,600 mentally ill adults were incarcerated in state prisons, 78,800 in federal prisons and 479,900 in local jails (James & Glaze, 2006). For this statistical research, mental health problems were categorized by two measures, and the first measure included a recent history of mental illness, such as a clinical diagnosis or treatment by a mental health professional (James & Glaze, 2006). Subsequently, the second measure involved the inmate displaying symptoms of a mental health problem, then he or she was evaluated against specific criteria outlined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders to render a diagnosis (James & Glaze, 2006). Additionally, of the 7.3 billion people imprisoned in the United States, studies reveal that 14 percent of inmates suffer from a major mental illness (Skeem, Manchak, & Peterson, 2011). Since we are now aware of how prevalent mental illness is among prisoners, let us identify some trends involving the mentally ill incarcerated population.

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Prisoners represent a unique group in society; they are frequently marginalized and deal with a variety of issues, including mental health issues (1). Within prisons, individuals are subject to unique stressors and traumas that can profoundly impact their psychological well-being (2). In this essay, we will delve into the mental health of prisoners, paying particular attention to the correlation between mental health in prisoners and the stressors of prison life. In addition to upsetting people's regular schedules and social ties, imprisonment exposes them to a violent, impoverished, and uncertain environment (3). These elements make prisoners more susceptible to mental health problems; studies show that rates of psychiatric disorders are much

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Prisons’ general health services should include regular assessment for prisoners,

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At the end of the paper I will discuss polices that would help increase the number of patients that receive help both inside the prison or even other criminals that may not be incarcerated but under other forms of supervision. I think that doing my senior paper on mental health in prisons have many advantages, first of all, there is a lot of new information and statistics coming out all the time. I think that it is also a very important topic because a lot of people in the world suffer from some kind of mental illness. The down side of this topic is that, while there is a lot of information about mental illness, it was a little hard to find about mental illness inside

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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.

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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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