Discussion 1: Do you think that the mentally ill should be incarcerated with the general population in jails? If not, what should be done with them?
The mentally ill should not be placed in the general population of prisons, if they have to face charges they should be placed in their own building or level within the prison with doctors and guards who are trained to take care of them properly. This is because if a mentally ill person is placed in prison, they will be easily taken advantage of or easily abused. The guards will not know how to handle them properly when they start to act out and resort to violence like they would with the other inmates. A mentally ill person should go to a mental facility where they will serve their time, being away from the general public, and taken proper care of and handled correctly as well as getting the treatment and medication or therapy they need. An article from the National Alliance on Mental Illness stated, “Once in jail, many individuals don’t receive the treatment they need and end up getting worse, not better. They stay longer than their counterparts without mental illness. They are at risk of victimization and often their mental health conditions get worse. After leaving jail, many no longer have access to needed healthcare and benefits. A criminal record often makes it hard for individuals to get a job or housing. Many individuals, especially without access to mental health services and supports, wind up homeless, in emergency rooms, and often re-arrested. At least 83% of jail inmates with a mental illness did not have access to needed treatment. Jailing people with mental illness creates huge burdens on law enforcement, corrections, and state and local budgets. It does not protect public safety. And people who could be helped are being ignored.”
Discussion 2: Do you think that the mentally ill should be incarcerated with the general population in jails? If not, what should be done with them?
As discussed in the last class, the number of mentally ill inmates is skyrocketing, whether that be due to lack of awareness, information, acknowledgement, or simply the proper resources. More often than not, mentally ill individuals are being arrested and placed in general population in jails and prisons, which, in my opinion, should never happen. Some mentally ill individuals require a level of specific care and monitoring that simply cannot get done correctly in a general population. Not to mention, not all other inmates understand these mental issues, which may cause issues to arise between their peers, which could put all parties in danger. According to a journal posted by World Psychiatry, “The presence of mental patients in prisons does not only deprive them of their right to proper treatment and care, but also leads to possible maltreatment and stigmatization. It is an ethical obligation to stop both.” In order to preserve their health and dignity, these individuals should be moved to specialized treatment centers, like psychiatry wards where they can be monitored and TREATED properly; easier said than done, I know. But unfortunately, the guards in jails and prisons are not extensively trained on mental health and how to approach these issues, which makes it difficult for me to understand why they would be expected to do just that.
Obviously, we do not live in a perfect world where everyone’s needs are accurately and quickly taken care of. But when twenty percent of the population in U.S. jails are severely mentally ill, change has to happen.
