The Treatment Of Mentally Ill Prisoners - 1522 Words

Out of the 2 millions individuals in American prisons, mental disorder affects more than 200,000 prisoners, yet it is an issue that has been ignored by the federal government and the public. Little attention has been brought to the topic of prisons and its prisoner, until the past few years, with the release of the shows â€Å"Making of a Murderer† and â€Å"Orange Is the New Black†, which both focus on life behind bars. The media has started to cover many of the injustices that occur behind the prison walls. However, while the American public has become more aware of the cruelty prisoners, especially those with mental illness face there is still little being done. The treatment of mentally ill prisoners is inhumane and better programs should be put in place in prisons in order to improve their medical and mental treatment and protect them from further abuse. The treatment of mentally disabled inmates in prisons is inhumane and deplorable as these prisoners have no control over themselves, but are shunned and severely punished because of their disorders. They often face mistreatment because facilities are ill trained to deal with the detainees episodes and behavior (Horowitz 1). Likewise, because of their disability and criminal record, these inmates are often treated as second rate human beings and are neglected by the staff and the facilities. There have been several reports of abuse of mentally disabled inmates by security personnel. In California, an inmate who suffered fromShow MoreRelatedThe Shutdown Of Public Mental Health1614 Words   |  7 Pagescalculated that there were approximately 705,600 mentally ill adults incarcerated in state prisons, 78,800 mentally ill adults incarcerated in federal prisons, and 479,900 mentally ill adults incarcerated in local jails (â€Å"Mentally Ill†). In response to the increase in the number of incarcerations and news stories, people around the nation developed harmful stigmas towards mentally ill people. According to Sarah Glazer’s article entitled Prisoners and Mental Illness, the state governments do notRead MoreEssay on Prisoners and The Development of Severe Mental Illness1375 Words   |  6 PagesThe vast majority of prisoners who suffer from severe mental illness are not receiving the proper mental health treatment necessary. The lack of attention allocated to the sanity of prisoners with mental illness is a haunting reality given that these people eventually return to the free world following their time in prison. Due to the punitive tendencies of the prison system, prison will likely only exacerbate peoples preexisting mental illnesses, making them susceptible to recidivism, or furtherRead MoreFemale Prisoners With Mental Health Issues1521 Words   |  7 Pages â€Æ' Multiple sources confirm that the population of female prisoners is rapidly increasing in the United States. The population now far exceeds one million prisoners (Bloom Covington, 2008) (Lewis, 2000). It is pertinent to recognize the group of female offenders with mental illness; they are a group that is seldom considered when pondering societal groups relating to communication. Through substantial research, several issues that ail this community have been distinguished and can be connectedRead MoreThe Treatment Of The Mentally Ill1581 Words   |  7 Pagesof dealing with the mentally ill by hiding those plagued, away in a prison cell to be forgotten. Despite the success of Dorothea Dix in solving the problems with adverse conditions in the prison system, we have come full circle and are currently back where we started over a century ago. There has been so much focus put on housing the mentally ill, we have all but forgotten about any type of treatment plans to help the overall gro wing problem. The handling of the mentally ill in the prison systemRead MoreKiana Griffin. 2 May 2017. Rhet 105 – M2. Rehabilitation1618 Words   |  7 Pagesprisons into America’s â€Å"new asylums†; it has become a warehouse for the mentally ill. Our U.S prison rehabilitative services are not equipped to provide care and psychological treatment for the mentally ill which allows for these mental illnesses to persist, worsen or even trigger new ones. It can even cause inmates to wind up back in prison upon release for minor offenses. In addition to the lack of resources for these mentally ill individuals, the prison environment also directly affects the mentalRead MoreDorothy Dix Changed the Prison and Mental Health Systems1068 Words   |  4 Pagesconcerning unfair prison treatment, the reform movement, and today’s important impact. Before the reform movement, prisoners and the mentally ill were treated cruelly under the prison system. Up until the 1800s, it was believed that mental illnesses meant some form of â€Å"religious punishment or demonic possession†. Most people had negative feelings toward the mentally ill during the years up to the reform movement. Hippocrates actually was well known to treat the mentally ill. He’d change their livesRead MoreDiversion Programmes And Access Of Mental Health Facilities1106 Words   |  5 Pagesavailable beds for the amount of patients which require treatment. Fortunately the suggestion of increasing the number of mental hospital beds is currently being considered by the Mental health Commission (19- 47). Currently Australia is experiencing the situation whereby patients are diverted from mental health facilities into prisons. In order to correct this situation, diversion programmes must be able to transfer mentally ill prisoners to mental health care facilities. These techniques allowRead MoreCriminalization Of The Mentally Ill1486 Words   |  6 PagesCriminalization of the Mentally Ill When discussing the criminalization of mentally ill persons within the prison system, it is important to know the history of mental illness in the prison system. In1841, Dorothea Dix began her Asylum Movement. She saw how deplorable the conditions were for mentally ill inmates in the prison system and insisted on change. The mental ill inmates were treated very poorly, being beaten, starved, and sexually abused. Dix brought her findings to the legislature of MassachusettsRead MoreTheu.s. Prisoners Rights : Denying Health Care Causes Serious Consequences1239 Words   |  5 Pages U.S. Prisoners’ Rights: Denying Health Care Causes Serious Consequences Madison Brenner â€Å"We have the largest lifer population of any prison. The inmates shouldn’t die before they have a chance for parole. They shouldn’t be given a life sentence because they can’t get health care.† Those are the words of Rafael Maldonado, a council member from California, speaking about prisoners’ right to health care (Sterngold 71). The First Amendment states that all citizens are ensured to certainRead MoreThe United Of Prison System874 Words   |  4 PagesThe United States incarcerates more of its people than any other country in the world. Even though it makes up for 5% of the world’s population, it also makes up for 25% of all of the world’s prisoners, according to the International Centre for Prison Studies. The US has been ranked number one in a ranking of 221 countries who incarcerate the most out of every 100,000 of the national population. Out of every 100,000 Americans, 707 are incarcerated. That’s 10 times as man y people as Norway, 15 times