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Mentally Ill Behind Bars Summary

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The article The Mentally Ill, Behind Bars discusses the happenings within the correctional system in New York of April 2014. Mayor Bill de Blasio and corrections commissioner Joseph Ponte were brought into New York City’s correctional centers that house mentally ill inmates, which make up roughly 40% of the total incarcerated population. This article pinpoints the three areas the city needs to focus on in order to improve the system for mentally ill inmates: the mental health of those incarcerated, Medicade enrollment before release back into society, and instilling programs for the mentally ill that will send them to a treatment facility rather than imprisoning them (The New York Times Editorial Board). The mentally ill in New York cost …show more content…

9, pg. 229). The article I summarized claims that even though there has been a mighty change in the system it was not designed to meet the complicated needs of mentally ill inmates in their care (The New York Times Editorial Board). Both the article and the textbook state the needs of the mentally ill inmates are difficult and expensive and their needs are not always met. The text claims the correctional officers have other needs and the article says the system needs further improvement to fully meet the needs of the mentally ill. It would seem that regardless of if it is a systematic issue that needs to be resolved or a change that needs to happen on a personnel level, both sources clearly state there needs to be changes in effect in order to house these types of inmates properly and …show more content…

The book indirectly supports this idea by repeatedly stating people argue that those with mental illnesses are not getting the adequate amount of help while incarcerated, and sometimes prison life may complicate the problems mentally ill people already face (Ch. 9, pg. 231). If inmates can struggle with menial tasks like standing in line for lunch or medications, or struggle with disrupting behavior, it would make sense to send them to a facility where they can get proper mental health care rather than a disciplinary system that may cause more disruptions and

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