The United States has the highest incarceration rate in all of the world. (Lee, Michelle Ye Hee) This statistic is simply startling taking into consideration that the United States does not have the highest population. In the total population of inmates contained in the United States, about 356,000 suffer from severe mental illness (Torrey EF, Zdanowicz MT, Kennard AD et al.) Since the closing of public mental institutions, many have been left to fend for themselves or with little care. As a result, there have been numerous cases in which mentally ill individuals have found themselves serving time instead of receiving the treatment they need.
In 1963 John F. Kennedy signed into place the Community Mental Health Centers Act which was meant …show more content…
John Hinckley Jr. would be a great example. On March 30, 1981, he attempted the assassination of president Ronald Reagan and fortunately failed (biography.com.) When asked for his reasons, he replied that he wanted to commit an act of “love” for Jodie Foster. He thought that killing president Ronald Reagan would convince Foster that he is a great man. Recently he has been trying to convince the federal system to serve the rest of his sentence outside of prison. This is an extreme case because most people who suffer from severe mental illnesses do not commit crimes. But it is stories like these that make people think, “Should we let these people who have committed heinous crimes walk the same streets as us?” The answer is no. Letting people who suffer from mental illness leave jail does not mean we let everyone out. If it is a minor offense such as robbery, they can serve their sentence in a mental hospital learning why what they did was wrong and how to better themselves as people for the future. Discrimination does not play into this because we could potentially let serial killers and rapists loose which is not
In 1963 John F. Kennedy signed into place the Community Mental Health Centers Act which was meant …show more content…
John Hinckley Jr. would be a great example. On March 30, 1981, he attempted the assassination of president Ronald Reagan and fortunately failed (biography.com.) When asked for his reasons, he replied that he wanted to commit an act of “love” for Jodie Foster. He thought that killing president Ronald Reagan would convince Foster that he is a great man. Recently he has been trying to convince the federal system to serve the rest of his sentence outside of prison. This is an extreme case because most people who suffer from severe mental illnesses do not commit crimes. But it is stories like these that make people think, “Should we let these people who have committed heinous crimes walk the same streets as us?” The answer is no. Letting people who suffer from mental illness leave jail does not mean we let everyone out. If it is a minor offense such as robbery, they can serve their sentence in a mental hospital learning why what they did was wrong and how to better themselves as people for the future. Discrimination does not play into this because we could potentially let serial killers and rapists loose which is not