Due to the fact that the majority of mental health courts require a guilty plea, mental health court clients are automatically convicted of a crime. Being convicted of a crime has collateral consequences. (McAleer, 2010) Collateral consequences that may occur may include the limitation of employment opportunities, elimination of access to public housing, disenfranchisement, elimination of welfare benefits and financial aid. (The Sentencing Project, 2015) These potential collateral consequences have the ability to have a major impact on the life and wellbeing of the client, therefore, I recommended the complete elimination of the mandatory guilty plea. The fact that the majority of mental health courts require forced medication is problematic. Although mental health courts are voluntary, and offenders may benefit from
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Ultimately, the changes are necessary to protect a vulnerable population that has been oppressed for way too long. Although investing in mentally ill offenders over mentally ill non-offenders is problematic, the overrepresentation of the mentally in jails and prisons is a major social problem that clearly needs to be addressed. America’s inadequate mental health care system has resulted in a major problem in America’s criminal justice system. Policy makers who may argue that my recommendations cannot be carried out because there is simply is not enough money to afford to do so, I argue we cannot afford to not to do so. A daughter cannot afford to be away from her father who is currently serving time because he sold drugs to self-medicate for his mental illness. A mother cannot afford to bury her son or daughter due to suicide because they were not able to get the treatment they desperately
Ultimately, the changes are necessary to protect a vulnerable population that has been oppressed for way too long. Although investing in mentally ill offenders over mentally ill non-offenders is problematic, the overrepresentation of the mentally in jails and prisons is a major social problem that clearly needs to be addressed. America’s inadequate mental health care system has resulted in a major problem in America’s criminal justice system. Policy makers who may argue that my recommendations cannot be carried out because there is simply is not enough money to afford to do so, I argue we cannot afford to not to do so. A daughter cannot afford to be away from her father who is currently serving time because he sold drugs to self-medicate for his mental illness. A mother cannot afford to bury her son or daughter due to suicide because they were not able to get the treatment they desperately