Mental Illness In Prison

The National Alliance on Mental Illness defines a mental illness as a condition that impacts a person’s thinking, feeling or mood which may affect his or her ability to relate to others and function on a daily basis. The number of individuals with serious mental illness in jails is disproportionately large and growing rapidly. According to some estimates, as much as 50% of the U.S. prison population suffers from some form of mental illness (!!!!). Mental health courts are up-and-coming in communities across the country to address these individuals and the issues they bring to the courts. Mental health courts only handle cases which involve offenders with mental disorders. According to Watson, Hanrahan, Luchins, & Lurigio the judge, prosecutor,

Founded in the BJS 2006 report (Bureau of Justice Statistics), “Twenty-eight percent received illegal income, 40% were more likely to have a general physical medical condition and 30% more likely to have multiple medical problems.” They are also twice more likely to have been homeless prior to incarceration than the general prison population according to the BJS report (Glaze & James, 2006). While prior family and living history is a major factor on why the mentally ill get incarcerated it is important to look as the offenses they are most likely to commit. Forty-eight percent of mentally ill inmates are charged with drug-trafficking-related crimes (Sarteschi, 2013). Majority of mentally ill offenders are imprisoned on their second or third offense — approximately one-third of inmates report having three to ten prior incarcerations. The mentally ill are also incarcerated for as many as five months longer than those without mental illness (Glaze & James,

Sarteschi of Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania reviewed the findings of recent research on the profile of mentally ill offenders. The 2006 Bureau of Justice Statistics report, by Doris J. James and Lauren E. Glaze, classifies mentally ill prisoners as those experiencing symptoms or receiving treatment from a mental health professional. If we use this definition, the authors estimate that 1.26 million prisoners are mentally ill; representing 45% of federal offenders, 56% of state offenders and 64% of jail inmates (2006). A 1999 Bureau of Justice report, “Mental Health and Treatment of Inmates and Probationers,” describes the mentally ill as those who reported a mental health issue or an emotional condition. If we use this definition, “the report’s author, Paula M. Ditton, found that, at that time, there were a total of 283,600 mentally ill persons in prisons and 861,000 on probation” (Sarteschi, 2013). According to Sarteschi, the author of the synthesis, a commonly accepted estimate is that half or more of all incarcerated prisoners have mental health