Question

What are the risks and problems associated with the jail and/or prison incarceration of people suffering from major mental illness? What were some of the interventions you learned about and what are some of the benefits and challenges of these?

Answer 1

When a mentally ill person is put behind the bar, unless his mental disorder is proved, that person so confined faces severe problem. The mental illness is taken as Deviant behavior unless proved otherwise. The person is placed in disciplinary segregation instead of giving medical treatment, the disciplinary action is keeping in segregation due to their behavior that triggers and aggravates their mental disorder. It is, therefore, necessary to access the mental state of the prisoner before subject to disciplinary action; the physician of the prison should look after the health of the prisoner and certify the mental condition of the prisoner. Without the adequate inpatient, facility traumatizes the condition of the person.

Many countries are facing with a large number of incarcerations of mentally sick person and that is increasing day by day, The survey shows that mentally ill people suffer from various types of illness like psychotic illness, major depression, personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder. It includes both men and women. They suffer from anxiety, suicidal tendency.ADHD, including multiple types of disorders.

As most of the case is registered in federal court instead of mental health and drug court the procedure is very slow. As there is no rehabilitation program after release from the prison, more and more people are coming back to the prison within three years of their release. That is commonly known as recycling. The immediate release period is very crucial for the person who is suffering from suicidal tendency.

Under the US constitution, public and prisoners have equal rights to receive medical and mental treatment that meets minimum standards with no underlying distinctions,

The challenge of mentally retarded prisoners has to be handled very seriously by developing acute care psychiatric units in prisons, it includes creating a therapeutic milieu with safe and specialized treatment inconsistent with the correctional mission. New and advanced medicine helps in improving the health of the offenders.

It requires comprehensive treatment scheme with innovation to help mentally sick prisoners to overcome their mental illness. Due to easy access to drugs and alcohol mental tension is increasing, that leads to stress the mental health cases are increasing. The public should keep themselves away from these substances which spoil their health and increases the risk of mental illness.