Mental illness in American prisons
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mentally ill A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...
people are overrepresented in United States jail and prison populations relative to the general population. There are three times more seriously mentally ill persons in
jails A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correcti ...
and
prisons A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correct ...
than in
hospitals A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
in the United States. Scholars discuss many different causes of this overrepresentation including the deinstitutionalization of mentally ill individuals in the mid-twentieth century; inadequate community mental health treatment resources; and the criminalization of mental illness itself. The majority of prisons in the United States employ a
psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
and a
psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the pre ...
. There is a general consensus that mentally ill offenders have comparable rates of
recidivism Recidivism (; from ''recidive'' and ''ism'', from Latin ''recidīvus'' "recurring", from ''re-'' "back" and ''cadō'' "I fall") is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of th ...
to non-mentally ill offenders. Mentally ill people experience
solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...
at disproportionate rates and are more vulnerable to its adverse psychological effects. Twenty-five states have laws addressing the emergency detention of the mentally ill within jails, and the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
has upheld the right of inmates to mental health treatment.


Prevalence

There is broad scholarly consensus that mentally ill individuals are overrepresented within the United States jail and prison populations. In the 2010 study titled "More mentally ill persons are in jails and prisons than hospitals: a survey of the states", researchers concluded that, based on statistics from sources including the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, there are currently three times more seriously mentally ill persons in jails and prisons than in hospitals in the United States, with the ratio being nearly ten to one in Arizona and Nevada. "Serious mental illness" is defined here as
schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social w ...
,
bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevat ...
or
major depression Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...
. Further, they found that sixteen percent of the jail and prison population in the U. S. has a serious mental illness (compared to 6.4 percent in 1983), although this statistic does not reflect differences among individual states. For example, in North Dakota they found that a person with a serious mental illness is equally likely to be in prison or a jail versus hospital, whereas in states such as Arizona, Nevada and Texas, the imbalance is much more severe. Finally, they noted that a 1991 survey through the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill concluded that jail and/or prison is part of the life experience of forty percent of these mentally ill individuals. In addition to mood and anxiety disorders, other psychopathologies have also been found in the US Prison System.
Antisocial personality disorder Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD or infrequently APD) is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of disregard of, or violation of, the rights of others as well as a difficulty sustaining long-term relationships. Lack ...
is found in less than 6% of the general American population, but seems to be found in anywhere between 12% to 64% of prison samples. Estimates of
Borderline Personality Disorder Borderline personality disorder (BPD), also known as emotionally unstable personality disorder (EUPD), is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of unstable interpersonal relationships, distorted sense of self, and strong ...
seem to make up around 1% to 2% in the general public vs 12% to 30% within prisons. Personality disorders, especially of the inmate population, are often found to be
comorbid In medicine, comorbidity - from Latin morbus ("sickness"), co ("together"), -ity (as if - several sicknesses together) - is the presence of one or more additional conditions often co-occurring (that is, concomitant or concurrent) with a primary ...
with other disorders. A separate research study "The Prevalence of Mental Illness among Inmates in a Rural State" noted that national statistics like those previously mentioned primarily pull data from urban jails and prisons. In order to investigate possible differences in rural areas, researchers interviewed a random sample of inmates in both jails and prisons in a rural northeastern state. They found that in this rural setting, there was little evidence of high rates of mental illness within jails, "suggesting the criminalization of mental illness may not be as evident in rural settings as urban areas." However, high rates of serious mental illness were found among the rural prison inmates. A 2017 report issued by the Bureau of Justice Statistics used self-report survey data from inmates to assess the prevalence of mental health problems among prisoners and jail inmates. They found that 14% of prisoners and 25% of jail inmates had past 30-day serious psychological distress, compared to 5% of the general population. In addition, 37% of prisoners and 44% of jail inmates had a history of a mental health problem. In 2015 lawyer and activist
Bryan Stevenson Bryan Stevenson (born November 14, 1959) is an American lawyer, social justice activist, law professor at New York University School of Law, and the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, h ...
claimed in his book ''Just Mercy'' that over fifty percent of inmates in jails and prisons in the United States had been diagnosed with a mental illness and that one in five jail inmates had a serious mental illness. As for the gender, age, and racial demographics of mentally ill offenders, the 2017 Bureau of Justice Statistics report found that female inmates, when compared to male inmates, had statistically significant higher rates of serious psychological distress (20.5% of female prisoners and 32.3% of female jail inmates had serious psychological distress, versus 14% of male prisoners and 25.5% of male jail inmates) and a history of a mental health problem (65.8% of female prisoners and 67.9% of female jail inmates compared to 34.8% of male prisoners and 40.8% of male jail inmates). Significant differences between race and ethnicity were also observed. White prisoners and jail inmates were more likely than black or Hispanic inmates to have serious psychological distress or a history of mental health problems. For example, in local jails, 31% of white inmates compared to 22.3% of black inmates and 23.2% of Hispanic inmates had serious psychological distress. Finally, with regards to age, there were virtually no statistical differences between age groups and the percentage who has serious psychological distress or a history of a mental health problem.


Potential reasons for the high number of incarcerated people diagnosed with mental illnesses


Deinstitutionalization

Researchers commonly cite
deinstitutionalization Deinstitutionalisation (or deinstitutionalization) is the process of replacing long-stay psychiatric hospitals with less isolated community mental health services for those diagnosed with a mental disorder or developmental disability. In the la ...
, or the emptying of state mental hospitals in the mid-twentieth century, as a direct cause of the rise of mentally ill people in prisons. In the 2010 study "More mentally ill persons are in jails and prisons than hospitals: a survey of the states," researchers noted, at least in part due to deinstitutionalization, it is increasingly difficult to find beds for mentally ill people who need hospitalization. Using data collected by the Department of Health and Human Services, they determined there was one psychiatric bed for every 3,000 Americans, compared to one for every 300 Americans in 1955. They also noted increased percentages of mentally ill people in prisons throughout the 1970s and 1980s and found a strong correlation between the amount of mentally ill persons in a state's jails and prisons and how much money that state spends on mental health services. In the book ''Criminalizing the Seriously Mentally Ill: The Abuse of Jails As Mental Hospitals'', researchers note that while deinstitutionalization was carried out with good intentions, it was not accompanied with alternate avenues for mental health treatment for those with serious mental illnesses. According to the authors, Community Mental Health Centers focused their limited resources on individuals with less serious mental illnesses, federal training funds for mental health professionals resulted in lots more psychiatrists in wealthy areas but not in low-income areas, and a policy that made individuals eligible for federal programs and benefits only after they'd been discharged from state mental hospitals unintentionally incentivized discharging patients without follow-up. In the article "Assessing the Contribution of the Deinstitutionalization of the Mentally Ill to Growth in the U.S. Incarceration Rate" researchers Steven Raphael and Michael A. Stoll discuss transinstitutionalization, or how many patients released from mental hospitals in the mid-twentieth century ended up in jail or prison. Using U.S. census data collected between 1950 and 2000, they concluded that "those most likely to be incarcerated as of the 2000 census experienced pronounced increases in overall institutionalization between 1950 and 2000 (with particularly large increases for black males). Thus, the impression created by aggregate trends is somewhat misleading, as the 1950 demographic composition of the mental hospital population differs considerably from the 2000 demographic composition of prison and jail inmates." However, when estimating (using a panel data set) how many individuals incarcerated between 1980 and 2000 would have been institutionalized in years past, they found significant transinstitutionalization rates for all men and women, with the largest rate for white men.


Accessibility

A main contributing factor as to why the US is seeing a steady increase in those who are mentally ill within the
prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...
system, can be due to the lack of accessibility in various communities. Specifically, those who come from a lower income background face these issues, in which there are little to no resources being offered that are readily available for those experiencing ongoing difficulty with their mental health. The
AMA Journal of Ethics The ''AMA Journal of Ethics'' is a monthly open-access (no subscription or publication fees) publication that includes peer-reviewed content, expert commentary, podcasts, medical education articles, policy discussions, and cases covering areas of ...
discusses more specific factors as to why there are consistent high arrest rates of those with severe mental illness within communities, stating that the arrests of drug offenders, lack of affordable housing, as well as significant lack of funding for community treatments are main contributors. With the introduction of
Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...
, many state run mental health facilities closed due to a shared responsibility of funding with the
federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...
. Eventually, states would entirely close a good portion of their facilities, so that mentally ill patients were being treated at hospitals where they would partially be covered by
Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...
and the government. The National Council for Behavioral Health conducted a study in October 2018, which included survey results that confirmed “nearly six in 10 (56%) Americans reseeking or wanting to seek
mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles Stress (biology), stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-maki ...
services either for themselves or for a loved one...These individuals are skewing younger and are more likely to be of lower income and military background”.


Criminalization

A related cause of the disproportionate amount of mentally ill people in prisons is
criminalization Criminalization or criminalisation, in criminology, is "the process by which behaviors and individuals are transformed into crime and criminals". Previously legal acts may be transformed into crimes by legislation or judicial decision. However, ...
of mental illness itself. In the 1984 study "Criminalizing mental disorder: The comparative arrest rate of the mentally ill", researcher L. A. Teplin notes that in addition to a decline in federal support for mental illness resulting in more people being denied treatment, mentally ill people are often stereotyped as dangerous, making fear a factor in action taken against them. Bureaucratic and legal impediments to initiating mental health referrals means arrest can be easier, and in Teplin's words, "Due to the lack of exclusionary criteria, the criminal justice system may have become the institution that cannot say no." Mentally ill people do indeed experience higher arrest rates than those without mental illness, but in order to investigate whether or not this was due to criminalization of mental illness, researchers observed police officers over a period of time. As a result, they concluded, "within similar types of situations, persons exhibiting signs of mental disorder have a higher probability of being arrested than those who do not show such signs." The authors of the book ''Criminalizing the Seriously Mentally Ill: The Abuse of Jails As Mental Hospitals'' claim that nationwide, 29% of jails will hold mentally ill individuals with no charges brought against them, sometimes as a means of 'holding' them when psychiatric hospitals are very far away. This practice occurs even in states where it is explicitly forbidden. Beyond that, according to the authors, the vast majority of people with mental illnesses in jails in prisons are held on minor charges like theft, disorderly conduct, alcohol/drug related charges, and trespassing. These are sometimes "mercy bookings" intended to get the homeless mentally ill off the street, a warm meal, etc. Family members have reported being encouraged by mental health professionals or police to get their loved ones arrested as a means of getting them treatment. Finally, some mentally ill people are in jails and prisons on serious charges, such as murder. The authors of ''Criminalizing the Seriously Mentally Ill'' claim many such crimes wouldn't have been committed if the individuals had been receiving proper care.


Malingering

Some inmates feign psychiatric symptoms for secondary gain. For example, an inmate may hope to receive a transfer to a more desirable setting or receive psychotropic medication.


Exacerbation of mental illness in a prison setting

Another proposed reason for the high number of incarcerated with mental illness is the way how a prison setting can worsen mental health. Individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions can worsen, or new mental health problems may arise. A few reasons are listed as to how prisons can worsen the mental health of the incarcerated: * Separation from loved ones * Lack of movement/isolation * Overcrowded prisons * Witnessing violence in the prison setting


Mental health care in prisons and jails

Psychologists report that one in every eight prisoners were receiving some mental health therapy or counseling services by the middle of the year in 2000. Inmates are generally screened at admission and depending on the severity of the mental illness they are placed in either general confinement or specialized facilities. Inmates can self report mental illness if they feel it is necessary. In the middle of the year in 2000, inmates self-reported that State prisons held 191,000 mentally ill inmates. A 2011 survey of 230 correctional mental health service providers from 165 state correctional facilities found that 83% of facilities employed at least one psychologist and 81% employed at least one psychiatrist. The study also found that 52% of mentally ill offenders voluntarily received mental health services, 24% were referred by staff, and 11% were mandated by a court to receive services. Although 64% of providers of mental health services reported feeling supported by prison administration and 71% were involved in continuity of care after release from prison, 65% reported being dissatisfied with funding. Only 16% of participants reported offering vocational training, and the researchers noted that although
risk/need/responsivity The risk-need-responsivity model is a model used in criminology to develop recommendations for how prisoners should be assessed based on the risk they present and what they need, and what kinds of environments they should be placed in to reduce rec ...
theory has been shown to reduce the risk for recidivism (or committing another crime after being released), it is unknown whether it is incorporated into mental health services in prisons and jails. A 2005 article by researcher Terry A. Kupers noted that male prisoners tend to underreport emotional problems and don't request help until a crisis, and that prison fosters an environment of toxic masculinity, which increases resistance to psychotherapy. A 2017 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics noted that 54.3% of prisoners and 35% of jail inmates who had past 30-day serious psychological distress has received mental health treatment since admission to the current facility; and 63% of prisoners and 44.5% of jail inmates with a history of a mental health problem said they had received mental health treatment since admission. Finally, the book ''Criminalizing the Seriously Mentally Ill: The Abuse of Jails As Mental Hospitals'' points out that 20% of jails have no mental health resources. In addition, small jails are less likely to have access to mental health resources and are more likely to hold individuals with mental illnesses without charges brought against them. Jails in richer areas are more likely to have access to mental health resources, and jails with more access to mental health resources also dealt less with medication refusal.


Recidivism

Research shows that rates of
recidivism Recidivism (; from ''recidive'' and ''ism'', from Latin ''recidīvus'' "recurring", from ''re-'' "back" and ''cadō'' "I fall") is the act of a person repeating an undesirable behavior after they have experienced negative consequences of th ...
, or re-entry into prison, are not significantly higher for mentally ill offenders. A 2004 study found that although 77% of mentally ill offenders studied were arrested or charged with a new crime within the 27-55 month follow-up period, when compared with the general population, "our mentally ill inmates were neither more likely nor more serious recidivists than general population inmates." In contrast, a 2009 study that examined the incarceration history of those in Texas Department of Criminal Justice facilities found that "Texas prison inmates with major psychiatric disorders were far more likely to have had previous incarcerations compared with inmates without a serious mental illness." In the discussion, the researchers noted that their study's results differed from most research on this subject, and hypothesized that this novelty could be due to specific conditions within the state of Texas. A 1991 study by L. Feder noted that although mentally ill offenders were significantly less like to receive support from family and friends upon release from prison, mentally ill offenders were actually less likely to be revoked on parole. However, for nuisance arrests, mentally ill offenders were less likely to have the charges dropped, although they were more likely to have charges dropped for drug arrests. In both cases, mentally ill offenders were more likely to be tracked into mental health. Finally, there were no significant differences in charges for violent arrests.


Tools for effective mental healthcare

A research paper published in 2020 by M. Georgiou remarked that having a well defined consultation process of mental health services will allow for effective care. This is called the
Care Programme Approach Care Programme Approach (CPA) in the United Kingdom is a system of delivering community mental health services to individuals diagnosed with a mental illness. It was introduced in England in 1991 and by 1996 become a key component of the mental ...
. It lists six steps to effective care of the prisoner: # Identify the health and need of care of the prisoner. # Written and clear plans. # Having key persons in supervision of the program. # Regular assessments of the program. # Interprofessional involvement. # Career involvement.


Solitary confinement

A broad range of scholarly research maintains that mentally ill offenders are disproportionately represented in
solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...
and are more vulnerable to the adverse psychological effects of solitary confinement. Due to differing schemes of classification, empirical data on the makeup of inmates in segregated housing units can be difficult to obtain, and estimates of the percentage of inmates in solitary confinement who are mentally ill range from nearly a third, to 11% (with a "major mental disorder"), to 30% (from a study conducted in Washington), to "over half" (from a study conducted in Indiana), depending on how mental illness is determined, where the study is conducted, and other differences in methodology. Researchers J. Metzner and J. Fellner note that mentally ill offenders in solitary confinement "all too frequently" require crisis care or psychiatric hospitalization, and that "many simply won't get better as long as they are isolated." Researchers T. L. Hafemeister and J. George note that mentally ill offenders in isolation are at higher risk for psychiatric injury, self-harm and suicide. A 2014 study that analyzed data from medical records in the New York City jail system found that while self-harm was significantly correlated with having a serious mental illness regardless of whether or not an inmate was in solitary confinement, inmates with serious mental illness in solitary confinement under 18 years of age accounted for the majority of acts of self-harm studied. When brought before federal courts, judges have prohibited or curtailed this practice, and many organizations that deal with human rights, including the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
, have condemned it. In addition, scholars argue the conditions of solitary confinement make it much more difficult to deliver proper psychiatric care. According to researchers J. Metzner and J. Fellner, "Mental health services in segregation units are typically limited to
psychotropic medication A psychoactive drug, psychopharmaceutical, psychoactive agent or psychotropic drug is a chemical substance, that changes functions of the nervous system, and results in alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition or behavior. T ...
, a health care clinician stopping at the cell front to ask how the prisoner is doing (i.e., mental health rounds), and occasional meetings in private with a clinician." One study in the
American Journal of Public Health The ''American Journal of Public Health'' is a monthly peer-reviewed public health journal published by the American Public Health Association that covers health policy and public health. The journal was established in 1911 and its stated miss ...
claimed that health care professionals must "frequently" conduct consultation through a slit in a cell door or an open tier that provides no privacy. However, some researchers disagree with the scope of claims surrounding the psychological effects of solitary confinement. For example, in 2006 researchers G. D. Glancy and E. L. Murray conducted a literature review in which they claimed that many frequently-cited studies have methodological concerns, including researcher bias, the use of "volunteer nonprisoners, naturalistic experiments, or case reports, case series, and anecdotes" and concluded "there is little evidence to suggest the majority...kept in SC...experience negative mental health effects." However, they did support claims that inmates with preexisting mental illnesses are more vulnerable and do suffer adverse effects. In their conclusion they claim "we should therefore be concerned about those with pre-existing mental illness who are housed in segregation because there is nowhere else to put them within the correctional system."


Community standpoint and outcome

Social stigma regarding this issue is significant due to the public's outlook and perception of mental health, where some may not recognize it as a health factor that needs to be addressed. It is for this reason that some may avoid or deny the assistance being offered to them, thus further suppressing feelings and experiences that eventually need to be dealt with. The NCBH notes that about one-third of Americans, or 38%, state that they worry of their peers and family members judging them if they were to seek mental help. Without the presence of these facilities within communities, there is an outcome of
mentally ill A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...
individuals carrying on with no preventative treatment or care to keep the severity of their condition to a healthy level. Just about 2 million of these individuals go to jail each year, moreover, data shows that 15% of men and 30% of women who are taken to prison, do in fact have a serious mental health condition. The
National Alliance on Mental Illness The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is a United States-based nonprofit organization originally founded as a grassroots group by family members of people diagnosed with mental illness. NAMI identifies its mission as "providing advoc ...
further looks into the results of decreased mental health services, and they found that for many, individuals do ultimately become homeless, or they find themselves in emergency rooms, as a result of inaccessibility to mental services and support groups. Statistics show that about 83% of jail inmates did not have access to needed treatment, prior to their
incarceration Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is " false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessar ...
, within their community which is why some may be rearrested for crimes as a way to return to some form of assistance. The Marshall Project has gathered data regarding those being treated in jail, and what they found was that the
Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...
implicated a new policy to be initiated that was meant to improve the care for inmates with mental-health issues. It ultimately led to decreasing the number of inmates who were categorized as needing higher care levels by more than 35%. After this policy change, the Marshall Project noted the steady decline since May 2014 of inmates receiving treatment for a mental illness. Research shows that within recent years, those with “serious psychotic disorders, especially when untreated, can be more likely to commit a violent crime”. It is said that an institutional shift would be more effective in reducing the number of incarcerated through the collaboration of multiple agencies, especially when it comes to the criminal justice system and the community. This collaboration between agencies deviates from the "self-perpetuating" system meant to incarcerate and process individuals in an administrative manner; therefore, it focuses closely on people with severe mental illness, and ensure ongoing care within and out of prison to reduce recidivism.


Legal aspects


Current Laws

The
Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...
have claimed to have made policy changes, but those changes only apply to the rules within the system, and they did not fund resources to carry those new implementations out. It should also be noted that within the prison system, states have laws and responsibilities to ensure as well, one being within the Eighth amendment that requires prisoners' medical needs to consistently be met. The
Prison Litigation Reform Act The Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997e, is a U.S. federal law that was enacted in 1996. Congress enacted PLRA in response to a significant increase in prisoner litigation in the federal courts; the PLRA was designed to decrea ...
upholds this right in federal court cases. As of late December 2018, the First Step Act (S 756) was signed into law as a way to a way to reduce recidivism and provide overall improvements to the conditions faced within federal prisons, as well as working to reduce the mandatory sentences given. Although, this Act primarily applies to about 225.000, or 10%, of individuals in federal prisons and jails, whereas this reform may not be applied to those in state prisons and jails. Some of the provisions that result from this act include staff training as to how to identify and assist those suffering from a mental illness, and providing improved, accessible treatment regarding drug abuse with programs like medication-assisted treatment. The implementation of significantly more Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics has been discussed as a solution to the issue of mental health in the prison system as well. Its primary goal is to cater to the needs of its specific communities and expand access to mental health treatment for everyone. The claims of an organization like this is to reduce criminal justice costs, as well as hospital readmissions, and, once again, to reduce recidivism. They strive to treat individuals with mental illness early on, rather than allowing them to carry on without professional care and general support.


Emergency detention

One major area of legal concern is the emergency detention of the non-criminal mentally ill in jails while waiting for formal procedures for involuntary hospitalization. Twenty-five states and the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...
have laws that specifically address this practice; eight of these states, as well as D. C., explicitly forbid it. Seventeen states, on the other hand, explicitly allow it. Within this set, the criteria and circumstances necessary differ by state, and most states limit the detention periods in jails to one to three days.Torrey, et al. 1998, 66. One distinguishing factor of this practice is that it is often initiated by a non-medical professional such as a
police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
. In many states, especially those in which a non-public official such as a medical health professional or concerned citizen can initiate the detention, a judge or magistrate is required to approve it before or soon after the initiation. When emergency detention in jails has been brought to court, judges have generally agreed that the practice itself is not unconstitutional. One notable exception was ''Lynch v. Baxley''; however, later cases, particularly ''Boston v. Lafayette County, Mississippi'', have connected the ruling of unconstitutionality in that case with the conditions of the jails themselves rather than the fact that they were jails. That being said, the
Supreme Court of Illinois The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ...
has stated that this practice is unconstitutional if the person being detained doesn't pose an
imminent threat Hugo Grotius, the 17th century jurist and father of public international law, stated in his 1625 magnum opus ''The Law of War and Peace'' that "Most Men assign three Just Causes of War, Defence, the Recovery of what's our own, and Punishment." Ov ...
to himself or others.


Supreme court cases

Several landmark Supreme Court cases, notably ''
Estelle v. Gamble __NOTOC__ ''Estelle v. Gamble'', 429 U.S. 97 (1976), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States established the standard of what a prisoner must plead in order to claim a violation of Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitut ...
'', have established the
constitutional right A constitutional right can be a prerogative or a duty, a power or a restraint of power, recognized and established by a sovereign state or union of states. Constitutional rights may be expressly stipulated in a national constitution, or they may ...
of prison inmates to mental health treatment. ''Estelle v. Gamble'' determined that "deliberate indifference to serious medical needs" of prisoners was a violation of the
Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution The Eighth Amendment (Amendment VIII) to the United States Constitution protects against imposing excessive bail, excessive fines, or cruel and unusual punishments. This amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the ...
. This case was the first time the phrase "deliberate indifference" was used; it is now a legal term. In order to determine "serious medical need" later cases would use tests such as the treatment being mandated by a physician or an obvious need to a layman. On the other hand, other cases, notably ''McGukin v. Smith,'' used much stricter terms, and in 1993 researchers Henry J. Steadman and Joseph J. Cocozza commented that "serious medical need" had little definitional clarity. ''Langley v. Coughlin'' involved a prisoner "regularly isolated without proper screening or care" and clarified that a single, distinctive act is not necessary to constitute deliberate indifference but rather "if seriously ill inmates are consistently made to wait for care while their condition deteriorates, or if diagnoses are haphazard and records minimally adequate then, over time, the mental state of deliberate indifference may be attributed to those in charge." The landmark case ''
Washington v. Harper ''Washington v. Harper'', 494 U.S. 210 (1990), was a United States Supreme Court case in which an incarcerated inmate sued the state of Washington over the issue of involuntary medication, specifically antipsychotic medication.. Background Wal ...
'' determined that although inmates do have an interest in and the right to refusal of treatment, this can be overridden without judicial process even if the inmate is competent provided there this act is "reasonably related to legitimate penological interest". Washington's internal process for determining this need was seen as affording due process. In contrast, in ''Breads v. Moehrle'', the forcible injection of drugs in a jail was not upheld because sufficient procedures were not taken to ensure "substantive determination of need".


Court cases

George Daniel, a mentally ill man on Alabama's death row was arrested and charged with capital murder. In jail, George became acutely psychotic and couldn't speak in complete sentences. Daniel, had been on death row until several years later, Lawyer Bryan Stevenson uncovered the truth of the doctor who lied about the examination of Daniels mental illness. Daniel's trial was then overturned and he has been in a mental institution since. Another mentally ill man, Avery Jenkins, was convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Throughout Jenkins's childhood, he had been in and out of foster homes and developed a serious mental illness. Jenkins erratic behavior didn't change, so his foster mother decided to get rid of him by tying him to a tree and left him there. Around the age of sixteen he was left homeless and started to experience psychotic episodes. At the age of twenty, Jenkins had wandered into a strange house and stabbed a man to death as he perceived it to being a demon. He then was sentenced to death and spent several years in prison as if he had been sane and responsible for his actions. Jenkins then got off death row and was put into a mental institution. In the past, overall living and treatment conditions within US prisons were not up to par, which can be seen through the details and points made by the Coleman v. Brown case that went to trial in 1995. The district court judge in charge of this case, ultimately recognized the systemic failure within the system to properly care for and provide resources to mentally ill inmates. These individuals were not receiving treatment prior to prison, and were sent there with expectations from others that they would be receiving treatment there, but that expectation was not fulfilled. With Coleman v. Brown, a
special court An extraordinary court, or special court, is a type of court that is established outside of ordinary judiciary, composed of irregularly selected judges or applies irregular procedure for judgment. Since extraordinary court can be abused to infri ...
, including three judges that can make final decisions on whether or not a problem is significant enough to enact change, came to the conclusion that
overcrowding Overcrowding or crowding is the condition where more people are located within a given space than is considered tolerable from a safety and health perspective. Safety and health perspectives depend on current environments and on local cultural n ...
was in fact a reason for poor conditions in prisons, therefore they called for a reduction in the prison population to partially relieve said issue. Justice Alito at this time questioned whether the solution of reduction was actually helpful, when they could be looking into constructing additional prison medical and mental health facilities. Although, the decision did not take care of the living conditions that were problematic before and even after the case. It has been noted that psychotic prisoners were often held in small, narrow essentially restricted areas in which standing on their own secretions was common. As far as actual mental health treatment conditions, the waiting time to even receive care could take up to a year, and when they finally reached that date, the screenings for such lacked privacy for those being evaluated as the spaces were often shared by several physicians at a time. A more recent case that has been discussed, is that involving previous inmate John Rudd where he was being held at a federal prison in
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
as of 2017. Rudd had a history of mental health disorders consisting of
posttraumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threat ...
, as well as
schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social w ...
. He was evaluated and diagnosed by a doctor as early as 1992. In 2017, he stopped taking his
psychiatric medication A psychiatric or psychotropic medication is a psychoactive drug taken to exert an effect on the chemical makeup of the brain and nervous system. Thus, these medications are used to treat mental illnesses. These medications are typically made of ...
, then proceeded to inform staff of his intentions to take his own life. Staff proceeded to put him in a suicide watch cell, where he would physically and violently hurt himself. Staff injected him with
haloperidol Haloperidol, sold under the brand name Haldol among others, is a typical antipsychotic medication. Haloperidol is used in the treatment of schizophrenia, tics in Tourette syndrome, mania in bipolar disorder, delirium, agitation, acute psychosi ...
, an anti-psychotic drug, to treat him, but after some time they concluded that Rudd was not ill enough to receive proper, regular treatment and continued to categorize him as a level one inmate, meaning no significant mental health needs. Although they were aware of his pre-existing conditions, the prison staff claimed those were resolved and simply adjusted it to Rudd having an
antisocial personality disorder Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD or infrequently APD) is a personality disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of disregard of, or violation of, the rights of others as well as a difficulty sustaining long-term relationships. Lack ...
. Prison staff in general, have also been experiencing issues for various years now. Previously in the 1990s, just about one-third of positions went unfilled for mental health staff, and it became increasingly impactful on inmates when the vacancy rates for psychiatrists reached 50% and up. Staffing shortage is still seen today in which some counselors can be pulled and asked to serve as a corrections officers for the time being. This situation had worsened due to the
Trump administration Donald Trump's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Donald Trump, his inauguration on January 20, 2017, and ended on January 20, 2021. Trump, a Republican Party ...
and the hiring freeze that was meant to reduce costs. Rudd, now out of prison and receiving counseling and taking medication, speaks on triggers within the prison environment that are not in any way healthy for those who are mentally ill.


See also

* *
Mental health among female offenders in the United States People in prison are more likely than the general United States population to have received a mental disorder diagnosis, and women in prison have higher rates of mental illness and mental health treatment than do men in prison. Furthermore, women in ...
*
Incarceration in the United States Incarceration in the United States is a primary form of punishment and rehabilitation for the commission of felony and other offenses. The United States has the largest prison population in the world, and the highest per-capita incarceratio ...
* * LGBT people in prison *
Mental health court Mental health courts link offenders who would ordinarily be prison-bound to long-term community-based treatment. They rely on mental health assessments, individualized treatment plans, and ongoing judicial monitoring to address both the mental hea ...
* Mental health issues in American women's prisons * *
United States incarceration rate :''This article focuses on the incarceration rate. For a discussion of incarcerations in general, see Incarceration in the United States.'' the incarceration rate of the United States of America was the highest in the world at 716 per 100,000 ...


Notes


References

* * Al-Rousan, T., Rubenstein, L., Sieleni, B., Deol, H., & Wallace, R. B. (2017). Inside the nation's largest mental health institution: a prevalence study in a state prison system. ''BMC Public Health'', ''17''(1), 342. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Steadman, H. J., Holohean, E. J., & Dvoskin, J. (1991). Estimating mental health needs and service utilization among prison inmates. ''Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online'', ''19''(3), 297–306. * Steadman, H. J., Osher, F. C., Robbins, P. C., Case, B., & Samuels, S. (2009). Prevalence of serious mental illness among jail inmates. ''Psychiatric services'', ''60''(6), 761–765. * * * {{Incarceration Imprisonment and detention in the United States Forensic psychology Mental health in the United States