Insane injustice: The mentally ill and the criminal justice system .

摘要

The de-institutionalization movement in the United States has led to an explosion in the prison population throughout the country. While the previous conditions led to abuse and isolation, releasing the mentally ill into society without safeguards not only endangers their well being but that of the general public. The current mental health system fails both patients and society.;The thesis begins with an analysis of societal views of mental illness and the reasons for incarceration. Next, the understanding of current mental health issues will begin with an introductory overview of mental health history and legislation. An analysis of the closing of asylums and subsequent creation of state mental hospitals will follow with a focus on the ethical challenges of institutionalizing the mentally ill against their will. The resulting impact of releasing the mentally ill into society will be examined through the path a mentally ill individual takes through the criminal justice system beginning with interaction with police and ending with parole. The state of Ohio will be studied due to its role in leading the nation in providing services to the mentally ill within the criminal justice system. Information concerning the subject matter was gathered through criminal justice and mental health literature, media articles, government laws and policies, and experts in the fields of mental health, corrections and law.;The thesis results include a new way to view the mentally ill. Instead of locking the mentally ill away in prison or in mental hospitals it was determined that the best course of action was to treat the mentally ill in the criminal justice system as individuals deserving of dignity. To end the practice of defining them solely by their illness and to grant them the protections which are already outlined in US law. The major issue with the incarceration of the mentally ill is that most who find themselves in the system have been denied basic human and constitutional rights based on their race and socio-economic status. The thesis concludes that US society does not take the time to understand anyone who exhibits behaviors deemed unacceptable. These individuals are labeled as outcasts, reduced to caricatures and deemed violent deviants. Due to these stereotypes it has been easy inspire fear which results in the incarceration and denial of rights to those who are different.