...Mentally Ill in Prison PSCH/610 Mentally Ill in Prison Abstract The increase in incarcerated individuals with mental illness in the preceding decades has made the prison system a prevalent mental health provider even though they are not prepared or equipped for such task. Prison life is tough on an individual’s mental health; overcapacity, lack of privacy, violent behavior, lack of activity, inadequate health services, seclusion from family and friends, and the insecurity of what life holds after prison contribute to the inmate’s mental health. Inmates whose judgment is altered or impaired by depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other severe mental illnesses are impacted more severely by the tribulations of prison life. Inadequate mental health services is also something mentally ill inmates face, this absconds them undertreated or mistreated. Numerous prisoners do not receive proper psychotropic medication due to the lack of mental health services and care, further impairing their capability to function. The security mission of prisons tends to overlook mental health considerations. Prison rules and codes of demeanor teach staff about security, safety, supremacy, and power. Coordinating the needs of the mentally ill with prison regulations and goals is almost impractical. Factors of the sources and effects of the concern between prison and mental illness will be observed in this research proposal. Reforms will be provided to improve mental health...
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... Special Offenders Definition According to “(Prison Glossary)” Offenders whose mental and/or physical condition requires special accommodation by DOC employees, contract workers, or volunteers. Special needs offenders may include, but are not limited to, drug or alcohol addicts or abusers, the emotionally disturbed, mentally retarded, suspected mentally ill, physically handicapped, chronically ill, the disabled or infirm, those with documented custody issues and those with limited academic ability or learning disability “(Prison Glossary)”. With that being said there are many special needs prisoners, one that many people are familiar with are the mentally ill, and substance abusing. There are many other illnesses then obvious ones, some prisoners have physical problems, others have infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, while some have serious substance abuse issues. One special offender no one thinks about is the elderly offenders in 2007 over ten percent of inmates in prisons were 50 years or older and many with serious health problems. Mentally ill and substance abusing prisoners In this paper I will be discussing the two common types of special needs offenders, the mentally ill and the substance abusing offenders. Among the prison population there are mentally ill prisoners, special needs offenders, and substance-abusing offenders. These special offenders affect the jail and prison systems at state and federal levels because they require...
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...Many mentally ill people are incarcerated every year due to their mental illness influencing their criminal behavior. Often when the mentally ill are tried, their illness is not discussed in court. Since the court system does not take mental illness into account, they get incarcerated instead of being institutionalized. Mentally ill prisoners are more likely to be treated more harshly by correctional staff in jail due to their conditions. The harsh treatment of mentally ill prisoners can be combated by improving correctional officer behavior, counseling prisoners to deal with trauma, and correcting prisoners' morals in life. Most mentally ill criminals go to prison instead of a mental hospital due to their illness not being identified or even...
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...the United States, people with mental illnesses have been confined in jails and prisons between 1770 and 1820. Incarcerating such people was considered inhumane, so mentally ill people were placed into hospitals instead of jails up until 1970. Ever since the 1970s, people with mental disorders are being imprisoned for their crimes(Torrey). America once considered incarcerating the mentally ill to be inhumane, but then they suddenly changed their mind and have considered it to be legal. Ever since the 1970s, numbers of imprisoned people with mental illnesses has exponentially increased, “In 2012, there were estimated to be 356,268 inmates with severe mental illness in prisons and jails. There were also approximately 35,000 patients with severe mental illness in state psychiatric hospitals”(Torrey). There is approximately ten...
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...An effective system of inmate discipline is very important when running a prison or jail. Usually, mentally ill inmates have had few or no protections against discipline routinely applied to their non-mentally ill peers. Arising from recent class action lawsuits challenging the quality of mental health care delivery in the nation’s prisons, prison mental health professionals have been called on to play an increasing role in the inmate disciplinary process. Referral questions include whether an inmate is competent to proceed with disciplinary proceedings and whether mental illness may have contributed to the rule violation. Prison mental health professionals participating in inmate disciplinary proceedings must therefore be familiar with relevant clinical, legal, and ethics issues. Little has been written in the psychiatric literature, however, examining this important role for prison mental health professionals. After first reviewing core legal and constitutional concepts, the author presents the results of a nationwide survey examining the role for mental health professionals in the inmate disciplinary process. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to provide a comprehensive review of this subject. Most prison systems have procedures for punishing prisoners who violate prison rules and for removing inmates from the general population for disciplinary or safety reasons. (For the purpose of this article, the terms “prisoner” and “inmate” will be used interchangeably...
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...Assignment 2: Treatment of Mentally Ill Prisoners 1.0 The Treatment of Mentally Ill Prisoners The treatment of mentally ill inmates has been not only a public concern, but has also been identified by Canada’s Correctional Investigator, Howard Sapers as an issue of concern in his 2014 report to parliament. Between 1997 and 2007, offenders entering the prison system with a mental disorder grew 71% in men and 61% in women (Canadian Mental Health Association, 2012). The problem at hand is that correctional institutes and their staff are not widely trained to deal with inmates who suffer from mental disorders. The result then, is that use-of-force interventions, and placement in solitary confinement, often for extended periods of time, are used as methods of dealing with unruly behaviours exhibited by these mentally ill offenders. While there are various issues surrounding mental health in the Canadian judicial system, for the purpose of this report, the discussion will be focused around inadequate methods for dealing with behaviours presented by these inmates, namely by use-of-force and solitary confinement 1.1 Use-Of-Force Techniques In Sapers 2014 report, it is reported that “28% of all use of force interventions involved an offender with a mental health concern as identified by the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC)” (Ministry of Public Safety, 2014). This is likely due to the fact that mentally ill inmates are more likely to self-harm, have unpredictable behaviour...
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...people are focused on the overcrowding of prisons; however, the increasing rates of the mentally ill in the prison system is also a very prominent issue that contributes to a lack of resources for the convicted. According to the US Bureau of Justice, over half of all prison and jail inmates nationwide have mental health problems. Although there is an abundant amount of research on the mentally ill in prison, many people are not aware of the social implications the mentally ill face when they are released back into society. Based on research conducted in North America, there is a repeating issue of recidivism which is the fact that these individuals are more likely to return to prison. The lack of concern for the recidivism in mentally...
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...Introduction “More than eighteen states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons operated their prison facilities at more than 100 percent capacity at the end of 2014.” This proves the increasing number of inmates enrolled in prisons is a growing issue. Overcrowding in prisons is caused by extended jail sentences, severe sentencing for drug related offenses, and imprisonment of the mentally ill, which generates inhumane living conditions for inmates. Solutions are relocating drug related offenses and allowing shorter sentences for nonviolent prisoners. Description of Problem Overcrowding in prisons has become a major growing issue in the United States recently. “From 2006 to 2011, prison population grew at 9.5 percent, outpacing the 7 percent growth...
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...“The fact is that, in all prisons everywhere, cruelties on the one hand and injudicious laxity of discipline on the other have at times appeared and will, at intervals, be renewed except the most vigilant oversight is maintained.” (Brainyquote.com) Dorothea Lynde Dix was instrumental in improving the treatment of the mentally ill. Her determination to improve the conditions for the “blind, deaf, and the dumb” was sparked when she traveled to England with some of her friends. While in England, she took a job teaching inmates at East Cambridge Jail, a women's prison. While employed at the prison, she witnessed the cruel treatment of the mentally ill, which included being flagged, chained, starved, left naked with neither heat nor sanitation, and being sexually and physically abused. (Biography.com) She believed...
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...others and themselves. The system is large and separated between federal, state and privately owned prisons. With that said, the system has evolved through trial and error. Some prison systems are agricultural and are found mostly in the southern states where inmates work on farm systems. These systems were products of the pre-civil war days of slavery where the inmate works in the cotton fields, hoe squads and planting vegetables for the prison. Some states have abandoned this method because negative reactions from farm organizations, whose members argue that competition from state prisons, were unfair with the free labor from prisoners. Correctional functions prisons provide essential medical, dental, and mental health services. Correction clients may also have access to legal books and or services to aide in their legal research and to prepare legal documents. Some institutions even offer various programs in literacy, parenting skills, adult continuing education and provide library services. In addition to what might be considered the "traditional" institutions, there are many other alternatives that corrections may choose to use. Some of these options include Pre-trial Release, Parole, Probation. Some prisons offer on-the-job-training through institution job assignments. All in all, corrections encompass a large part of our criminal justice system. The inmates are entitled to medical care and attention as needed to treat both short-term conditions and long-term...
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...March 26, 2012 Frontline “The New Asylums” In this video, Frontline discuss the high number of the mentally ill that are incarcerated in prison. Looking at Ohio’s correctional system the video attempts to claim many of societies criminals are mentally ill. While the video does show there is a problem in the prison system with mentally ill inmates not receiving the required help that they need it doesn’t touch on the point that the majority of those inmates are trying to work the system. Alternatively, the inmate is attempting to get away with the crime based on a defense of mental illness. As a former Deputy Jailor with a Sheriff’s Department with 5 years experience I have first hand knowledge of the penal system. The jail I worked at could house any type of inmate for up to ten years. We served some inmates who did have a lifetime sentence but they would only be at our facility for ten years or less. I had a variety of responsibilities while I was there to include: dispensing medication, having one on one contact, and extractions from cells when an inmate failed to comply with directions. The majority of the inmates received medication many of which would never take these medicines when released. A great majority of these meds were for mental illness. The majority of those who received such medication were quite functional, and compliant to jail directives. These inmates were choosing to follow directives, which had nothing to do with the medication. I’ve seen these men...
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...What: In the 19th century the big question that this reform movement was all about was “Are these criminals to be treated like criminals or like human beings.” Another big problem was that prisons were used as punishment for serious crimes but legislatures wouldn’t supply the prisons with the money to run them. Since they didn’t have the money to fund these prisons they couldn’t have large amounts of inmates which they did in the 19th century so instead of holding them they rehabilitate them. Since there were so many prisoners prisons had chaos and the guards were forced to use torture to keep the inmates in line. (A) WHo: Dorothea Dix had a big impact on the prison reform movement. She helped inmates who were mentally ill in the US. She believed that the prisoners were being mistreated and deserved better treatment than they were...
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...George king There are many special needs prisoners, one that many are familiar with are the mentally ill, and substance abusing. In 1955 there weren’t any mental institutions being built, and there were forty that were shut down about a decade ago. As of today there were more prisons opening up, and many people seemed the most qualified to care for and house these patients. Today prisons have taken on the lead role of caring for mentally ill patients, housing 45,000 in prison to 3,000 in mental institutions. Rehabilitation programs are lacking in the mentally ill category, therefore mentally ill prisoners usually return to prison. There are many inmates in prisons that have different special needs. Some of these needs are based on the sex of the inmate. Male’s prisoners have a lot more special needs to take care of their selves as the females prisoners do not. You also have inmates who suffer from a mental illness. Their special needs are much more different than those who have basic needs. People who suffer from substance abuse have needs in the area called addiction. With having these different kinds of individuals it affects the diverse needs, and affects the jails and prisons in various ways. If people were not care for properly there would be negative consequences. There are programs that help the prisoners and also in prisons that allow these prisoners to be cared for in a great way. Some of the prisoner’s special needs are having a physical...
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...Who Distinguishes Evil from Illness? By age 30 Andrea Yates had been high school class valedictorian, captain of the swim team, an officer in the National Honor Society, graduated from the University of Houston as a registered nurse, wedded and had her first child. It seemed Yates’s ambition of fulfilling her life with all her hopes and dreams could not be diverted. The Yates family was very religious and Bible reading was an enjoyed pass time within the household. Around 1990, Andrea’s internal issues came to the surface with her self-mutilation accompanied by a suicide attempt, which was followed by a short admission into a psychiatric ward. When released her mood had stabilized from a newly prescribed anti-psychotic with her life looking up. This cycle, unfortunately, insisted on continuing on three separate occasions before Andrea was diagnosed with major depressive disorder and post-partum depression. Yates was warned that if she were to become pregnant again it was highly likely the episodes of psychotic behavior would resurface. She began to grasp the magnitude of her mental health and was readily taking her medications despite the begging and pleading from her husband for another child. Nonetheless, Andrea gave in and the pregnancy of her 5th child began in 2000. In the events of her newborn’s birth, discontinuation of her anti-psychotic, and the passing of her father, Andrea’s spiral into depression was more catastrophic than ever. June 20th, 2001, her husband went...
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...job .Unfortunately, the director is under pressure from the governor and mental health advocates, and say that the department has ignored the needs of mentally ill inmates. When knowing that their points have some validity because the department does not have many specialized mental health programs. This issue has been heightened by two mentally ill inmates who committed suicide by hanging themselves in the prisons over the past sixty days. In addition, a mentally ill inmate was raped in another prison. Also, an inmate suffering from mental illness murdered a staff member last week. My responsibly is to design...
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