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Summary Of The Film 'The Released'

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The Frontline video documentary, “The Released,” is a follow-up film of Frontline’s “The New Asylum” which is a documentary about how correctional facilities became a dumping ground for our society’s mentally ill criminals after state psychiatric hospitals closed down in the 1970’s. The movie, “The Released” however, focuses on what happens to people with chronic mental health issues after being released from prisons and jails. The film shows us that most of these mentally ill inmates end up repeating the same cycles that ultimately result in a life-time of recidivism. The conclusion of “The Released” clearly conveys that deinstitutionalization and our mental health system currently in place is a failure. In order to find solutions to this critical problem, it is important to understand the underlining issues surrounding the mental health system breakdown. Another essential element to solving this problem is to change the negative stigma society has towards mental illness by understanding it and its connection to crime and recidivism. This review aims to do just that in addition to discussing alternate approaches that may initiate positive changes in our mental health system and all that are affected by it. To begin, it might be helpful to gain a little insight about the effects …show more content…
They have a hard time finding employment and finding the support they need in order to stay on a path to personal success. Many times these hardships lead them to behaviors and actions that inevitably send them back to jail or prison. This is especially true for those prisoners who suffer from severe mental illness. With over one million mentally ill inmates throughout America, it is said that most of them will return to jail or prison within 18 months from release do to transition

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