Five hundred thousand mentally ill people are in jail to this day in the US. People with mental health issues are treated unfairly in the criminal justice system, which must be addressed through increased education for the police and larger communities.
The mentally ill do not get the same treatment as others do, the numbers may come by surprise. The mentally ill spend three times longer behind bars than those with similar charges (Kalson). It doesn’t seem right. Just because someone is "different" doesn’t mean they should be locked up longer. The mentally ill should get help, not jail time, however, the jury tends to ignore those facts, 10,000 to be in fact (Danid). That is how many trials are ignored with mentally ill people yearly …show more content…
Some of the people who have a mental disorder cannot cope with the pressure of being in jail and it makes them feel locked inside and go on a rage. Not only do they have to feel stressed in jail, they also get cut off from the state, with no place to go after they get out if they had a place to go in the first place (Kalson). 250,000 mentally ill people are homeless and people say they are falling through society's cracks ("National Debate"). Two million people get put in jail each year, the percentage of those who are mentally ill are 15% men and 30% of them being women ( Nami). People are also believing that prison is becoming the new mental institution. But some mentally ill refuse to get help, maybe that is why the community is saying they are falling through the …show more content…
The Mental Health System is becoming more intense about helping and providing for the mentally ill. For example, they are starting to build more houses for the mentally ill so they are off the street and do not try to hurt anyone or themselves (“New justice for mentally ill”). The Mental Health System is also trying to help those who are going into prison not to lose everything they do have, such as either a home or being supported by the state (Kalson). The court is also finding that most cases the crimes are involuntary, because a lot of mentally ill people are being accused of crimes they never committed. The community agrees they need to reexamine those cases and help the mentally ill get better (“Involuntary commitment of people with mental
The mentally ill do not get the same treatment as others do, the numbers may come by surprise. The mentally ill spend three times longer behind bars than those with similar charges (Kalson). It doesn’t seem right. Just because someone is "different" doesn’t mean they should be locked up longer. The mentally ill should get help, not jail time, however, the jury tends to ignore those facts, 10,000 to be in fact (Danid). That is how many trials are ignored with mentally ill people yearly …show more content…
Some of the people who have a mental disorder cannot cope with the pressure of being in jail and it makes them feel locked inside and go on a rage. Not only do they have to feel stressed in jail, they also get cut off from the state, with no place to go after they get out if they had a place to go in the first place (Kalson). 250,000 mentally ill people are homeless and people say they are falling through society's cracks ("National Debate"). Two million people get put in jail each year, the percentage of those who are mentally ill are 15% men and 30% of them being women ( Nami). People are also believing that prison is becoming the new mental institution. But some mentally ill refuse to get help, maybe that is why the community is saying they are falling through the …show more content…
The Mental Health System is becoming more intense about helping and providing for the mentally ill. For example, they are starting to build more houses for the mentally ill so they are off the street and do not try to hurt anyone or themselves (“New justice for mentally ill”). The Mental Health System is also trying to help those who are going into prison not to lose everything they do have, such as either a home or being supported by the state (Kalson). The court is also finding that most cases the crimes are involuntary, because a lot of mentally ill people are being accused of crimes they never committed. The community agrees they need to reexamine those cases and help the mentally ill get better (“Involuntary commitment of people with mental