...Incarceration of people with mental disorders José Miguel Avendaño Monroy Colegio Británico Research Skills Abstract This paper explores many published articles, and statistics that report and explain on results from research the incarceration of people with mental disorders, founding and explaining why criminals with mental disorders (schizophrenia, and major depression) should be incarcerated instead of being sent to a psychiatric center?; founding that there are many factors that can start the development of mental illness such as combination of biological, psychological, and environment factors (Hall-Flavin, 2015). Also it was set the most common mental disorders in inmates, that were schizophrenia, major depression, and bipolar disorder. Additionally it was present that up to the fifty five percent inmates suffer a mental disorder (Glaze & James, 2006). Also it was present a murder case which occurs in Perú, for demonstrated that people with mental illness can be highly dangerous in certain moments and they may affect the people who is surrounded them. In conclusion, there is still a long and endless debate between the same society trying to convince and prove why criminals with mental illness should be or not incarcerated. Keywords: mental disorder, criminals with mental disorders, recidivism, bipolar disorder, criminal rates. Incarceration of people with mental disorders I. ABSTRACT II. INTRODUCTION III. MENTAL DISORDER a. Definition...
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...TOPIC 1: MENTAL DISORDERS AND CRIME 1.0 INTRODUCTION TO MENTAL DISORDER A mental disorder is depicted as a significant behavioral or psychological pattern, which leads to distress or impairment in important areas of functioning or a higher risk of suffering from pain, disability, loss of freedom and death (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Mental disorder affects a person’s mood, thinking and also behavior. The general types of mental disorders include mood disorder, anxiety disorders, personality disorders and psychotic disorders. 2.0 SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF MENTAL DISORDERS These signs may include the feelings of excessive anxiety, intense fear, odd speech or thinking patterns, marked changes in behavior and mood, withdrawal from social interaction and the lost of interest in activities that are normally enjoyed. 3.0 THE LINK BETWEEN MENTAL DISORDERS AND CRIME Personally, I think that there is a positive correlation between mental disorders and crime. However, not all individuals with mental disorders are certain to commit crime. The possibility of crime being committed by these individuals may depend on external factors which trigger their biological predisposition to violate the rights of others. In the following discussion, I have included several studies which stated that mental disorders may lead to crime. 3.1 SOCIAL DISCRIMINATION & AGGRESSION Results from a study have shown that individuals with psychotic disorders were...
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...subject of mental illness and crime appear to show a strong link between mental illness/abnormality and criminality. However, crime is neither a mental disorder nor is it necessarily evidence of such a disorder. The concept of crime and of mental illness should be kept separate and distinct. Crime is a violation of the criminal law, whereas mental illness refers to behaviour that is often marked by some defect of reason that interferes with an individual’s ability to test reality, and which is usually associtaed with stress, disability and an increased risk of suffering. While it is true that some crime can undoubtedly be explained by mental illness, to consider all crime as a manifestation of such an illness would eliminate any sensible boundaries to the concept of mental illness and would be an unrealistic overstatement of the relationship between mental illness and crime. Mental illness is linked with criminality only in a very complex and ill defined way and the behaviour of mentally ill offenders is rarely explicable purely because of their mental state. There are a number of observations that have been made that necessarily complicate the question of whether there is any causal link between mental illness and crime. Firstly, in many cases, it is impossible to determine when the mental illness may have started in the patient. For example, the mental illness may come about as a direct result of the traumatic experience of imprisonment and in such a case the illness would be...
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...that have been initiated in the 21st century have been caused by youthful teenagers and older people who suffer from a mental illness or have diagnoses that are implemented to the cause of their actions and is an excused to why they determine to execute the crime. The 24 year-old man who has the “possibility” of having psychosis that could have been derived from a past case of schizophrenia, a health condition, medication, or drug usage had legally purchased a handgun and shot 11 people in downtown Portland, killing five victims. A person that has a “possibility” of having psychosis is prone to symptoms such as delusions and hallucinations, and...
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...Panetti v Quarterman Facts of the Case September 8, 1992 Scott Panetti shaved off his hair, put on his military fatigues (he had served briefly in the Navy), and proceeded to drive to the home of his wife’s parents house. His wife had very recently left him because he was abusive not only to her and their young daughter, but also heavily abused alcohol. He entered the home by breaking into a sliding glass door. While his wife begged him to stop, he pointed his rifle at her mother; shooting and killing her in front of his wife and 3 year old daughter. He proceeded to then shoot her father, again, in front of her and her child. Blood spattered onto their 3 year old daughter. He shot his parents-in-law at extremely close range. After killing Amanda and Joe Alvarado, he took his wife and daughter to the place he had been living and held them captive through the night. The next morning he let them go without any harm. Several hours after releasing them he put on a dress suit and drove to the Giuseppe police station where he turned himself in for the murders. While at the station he explained to the police that an auditory hallucination named Sarge was in control during the murders. He also referenced his act was of divine intervention, therefore his victims did not suffer during their deaths. Scott Panetti had a long history of mental illness. There was a report filed when he served in the Navy in regards to his mental health dating back to 1975. The prior 6 years before the shooting...
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...The media is playing on the emotions of people. The media is focusing of the emotional aspect of the case. Continually the mother is portrayed crying and witnesses are shown describing how horrific Li’s actions were during the incident. Essentially, the media is fear mongering to scare people and further making people reluctant to accept Li’s visits out of the hospital. Furthermore, the news and media is showing opinionated pieces. The media perspective is very rarely based on research or evidence. Instead, the media portrays biased pieces and the opinion of the locals in the neighborhood.. The reality of the matter is the review board made a well-educated decision. The board’s decisions were based on the knowledge of professionals. Nurses and doctors make well informed decisions based in fact and evidence. The aim is not to punish Li for his mental illness; the aim is to cure his...
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...vs Schizophrenia: Any Relation? Tracey A Spear Florida Institute of Technology Author Note Tracey Spear, Department of Psychology, Florida Institute of Technology. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Tracey Spear, Department of Psychology, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 W. University Blvd. Melbourne, FL 32901, Email: tracerspear82@gmail.com Abstract Many years ago, many individuals who claimed to have spoken to “God” or seen angels and were coerced to commit certain harmful or illegal acts were considered to be possessed by demons or the devil. This was a problem that created a lot of panic within people to follow their religions and to pray that their spirit would not be consumed by the devil. Religion in most part viewed this as a spiritual aspect where in actual fact, this was a neurologic problem within these individuals. Schizophrenia has also been said to be a hereditary disease and many psychiatrists have to dig deeper into the patient’s family history for any correlation within the family. There are many aspects to take into consideration when dealing with someone who is suffering with delusions and a mixture of religious influence as it can create a lot of controversy. Many will argue this, but medical science throughout history has been solving these types of mysteries surrounding schizophrenia and their relation to exorcisms. Keywords: schizophrenia, exorcism, hallucinations, demons, religion. Exorcism vs Schizophrenia: Any...
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...Schizophrenia Symptoms for schizophrenia vary and their impact on everyday life can range from troublesome to life-altering. Work, school and home life can all be affected by schizophrenic symptoms. Even the early signs of schizophrenia can impact school and social life. Initially, when schizophrenia signs and symptoms begin, it’s not obvious what they are. Often these schizophrenia symptoms occur during adolescence and are mistaken for normal teenage behavior or perhaps depression or another mental illness. The earliest symptom of schizophrenia may be cognitive impairment and this can occur at a young age. Other early symptoms include: 1 Change in friends or social isolation 2 Difficulty at school 3 Sleep problems 4 Irritability 5 Difficulty telling reality from fantasy (hallucinations and delusions) 6 An increase in unusual thoughts, perceptions and suspicions or paranoia 7 Odd manner of thinking and speaking Effects of Signs and Symptoms of Schizophrenia at Work and School These early schizophrenia symptoms can easily result in a failure to thrive at school. The person may push away all their friends and become withdrawn, no longer willing to take part in things they once enjoyed, like sports or music. The cognitive impairment and difficulty thinking may result in a drop in grades. Once a person gets older, the symptoms of schizophrenia tend to become more pronounced as schizophrenia becomes a full-blown illness. At this point, signs and symptoms of schizophrenia...
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...semiannual crime statistics. While a decrease in crime is almost always a good thing, understanding what risk factors are associated with the crime, and knowing what can be done to further prevent the crime from occurring in the first place, are integral parts of further deterring a specific crime. However, when people think of arson, they rarely know what factors lead a person to commit it. There isn’t nearly as clear a picture of an arsonist as one may have of a thief or hackers. While there may not be as clear an image of what an arsonist looks like, there are multiple studies done to show what may...
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...Schizophrenia: An Examination PYC4802 Assignment 3: 668049 17 JUNE 2015 The El Index * Cover * Index * Introduction * Chapter 1: A Definition of Schizophrenia * Chapter 2: Symptoms of Schizophrenia * Chapter 3: Causes of Schizophrenia * Chapter 4: Treatment of Schizophrenia * Chapter 5: Living with Schizophrenia * Conclusion * References Chapter 1. Introduction Schizophrenia, or mental illnesses in general isn't something new. It isn't a new age ideal which popped up out of nowhere. Even in the time of the Egyptians, there were reported cases of mental illnesses, but back then, they did not have the knowledge that we do today, so as Yuhas (2013) states, they simply deemed that those who displayed the symptoms of mental illnesses, such as those who had issues with concentration, those who were delirious or those with dwindling attention spans as simply suffering from emotional distress. It's not just the Egyptians, though. As Nizamie and Goyal (2010) point out, the ancient Indian text known as the Atharva-Veda also speak of mental illnesses, but to them back then, they were simply divine afflictions and curses sent from the gods who were angry at those who suffered. They also go on to elaborate on the Atharva-Veda, revealing that in the ancient text, there were detailed descriptions of conditions which sound similar to both bipolar disorders and schizophrenia, with many...
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...Schizophrenia Symptoms for schizophrenia vary and their impact on everyday life can range from troublesome to life-altering. Work, school and home life can all be affected by schizophrenic symptoms. Even the early signs of schizophrenia can impact school and social life. Initially, when schizophrenia signs and symptoms begin, it’s not obvious what they are. Often these schizophrenia symptoms occur during adolescence and are mistaken for normal teenage behavior or perhaps depression or another mental illness. The earliest symptom of schizophrenia may be cognitive impairment and this can occur at a young age. Other early symptoms include: 1 Change in friends or social isolation 2 Difficulty at school 3 Sleep problems 4 Irritability 5 Difficulty telling reality from fantasy (hallucinations and delusions) 6 An increase in unusual thoughts, perceptions and suspicions or paranoia 7 Odd manner of thinking and speaking Effects of Signs and Symptoms of Schizophrenia at Work and School These early schizophrenia symptoms can easily result in a failure to thrive at school. The person may push away all their friends and become withdrawn, no longer willing to take part in things they once enjoyed, like sports or music. The cognitive impairment and difficulty thinking may result in a drop in grades. Once a person gets older, the symptoms of schizophrenia tend to become more pronounced as schizophrenia becomes a full-blown illness. At this point, signs and symptoms of schizophrenia...
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...Are people with mental health problems at increased risk of committing violence? | Holly ButlerCCJ10January 27, 2015 | Abstract There has been significant interest in Australia and indeed the world as to whether people with a mental illness are at increased risk of violence. In particular, the diagnosing of current or even future offenders has offered a wide insight not only into mental illness as a stand-alone but to whether it is a major trigger in acts of violence. Offenders with mental illness have attracted substantial attention over the recent years, given their prevalence and poor outcomes. A number of interventions have been developed for this population (e.g., mental health courts) and they share an emphasis on one component as the foundation of the problem: mental illness. Focusing soley on psychiatric services inadequately tie in with the policy goal of reducing recidivism. The validity of mental illness being linked t criminal behavior points towards moderated arbitration techniques and the effect of mental illness on other “recidivism” is to some extent interceded by system impartiality and shame. The recognition of mental illness being tied to offenders been identified as a feasible tool to decrease the escalating level of offending amongst juveniles, and indeed has been implemented in varying forms as a diversion away from the criminal justice system. In this essay, the notion of people with mental health problems are not at increased risk of committing...
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...Postpartum Psychosis Motherhood the Sad, the Mad, and the Insane Laurie Hackney Women, Crime, and Criminal Justice Dr. Connolly March 21, 2011 Postpartum Psychosis Motherhood the Sad, the Mad, and the Insane On the heartbreaking morning of June 20, 2001, Andrea Pia Yates was arrested and charged for the filicide of her children. One by one, this seemingly devoted mother of five drowned all of her children in the bathtub of their family home. Singularly, she put her three youngest children to death, taking their bodies from the tub fully clothed and wet, then placed them upon their bed, and covered them up. She proceeding doing the same with her youngest child, but while she was drowning Mary, her oldest son Noah walked in and asked what she was doing before he turned and ran away. She gave chase, caught up with him in the hall, then dragged him back to the bathroom and proceeded to terminate him with Mary dead in tub. Andrea then took Mary and placed her in the arms of the three youngest children leaving Noah behind dead and alone in the bath. Factors Relating to the Incident Being raised a Roman Catholic; Yates converted her religious beliefs to that of her husband’s prior to marriage. In this religion, people are expected to have as many children as nature will allow. Even while Andrea was awaiting trial, it was reported that her husband felt so sure of his wife’s acquittal that he was already speaking about having more children. This notion left the attorneys...
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...Through expert witnesses, psychology has proven itself to be extremely helpful in the court of law, especially when dealing with certain cases. A case in which these two fields come together is when dealing with mental illnesses, where the jury expects to be educated on the mental health of an offender at the time of crime. Mental illness, in the broadest of terms, is made up of disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior processes. Thus, it is a mental health condition that can include disorders such as depression, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, eating disorder and schizophrenia (Chavers, 2010, p. 20). Controversies between psychology and the law begin to appear with more severe mental disorders that can lead to crimes demanding...
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...High rates of incarceration and acts of crime have impacted on society at community, individual, and national levels (1). Mass incarceration is a concern, as high rates of incarceration cause considerable disadvantages to society (16). Policies derived from the War on Drugs influenced the widespread of mental and substance abuse disorders among populations of incarceration (16). In order to accomplish the goal of preventing incarceration, evidence based treatments within corrections focus on prevention strategies (16). Evidence supports the idea of healthcare interventions aiding in the reduction of crime, and recidivism rates (16). These types of interventions can reduce costs to society, and improve the therapeutic outcomes of individuals who suffer from substance abuse and mental disorders (16). Mental health courts (MHC) offer a promising alternative to incarceration. Crime can produce inevitable effects, and cause society to experience considerable economic costs (1). The combination of correctional and drug policies in the United States have contributed to the rise in prison populations across the country, resulting in billions of dollars in economic losses (1). Programs such as problem-solving courts can generate benefits by reducing costs caused by crime. The objective of many MHC studies is to provide evidence that...
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