Mentally Ill Prisoner Research Paper

Mentally Ill Prisoners South Carolina mental health state hospital had to close their doors due to limited funding in the state budget to keep the facility open. As a result, some of the patients were transitioned into a short term area mental health hospital and they were later released into the communities. Some of the patients did poorly when transitioned into the communities and were later found to be trouble with the judicial system. They would go out and commit crimes such as trespassing, public intoxication, or robbing the thrift store. When I was working at a local mental health hospital, some of the patients would be referred to our facility after they have served their sentence, from the largest South Carolina state mental health hospital for incarcerated inmates, Gilliam Psychiatric Hospital, is located in Columbia, SC. This hospital has approximately one-hundred and ninety eight beds and is being utilized to provide service to inmates who are mentally ill. …show more content…
The mentally ill prisoner was isolated his cell for approximately eleven days. When the staff finally checked up on the prisoner, he was found face down, covered in feces, urine and he had a body temperature of 80.6. The mentally ill prisoner was transported to the hospital and died from hypothermia and cardiac arrhythmia(Smith, 2015, para. 36). The end results of this case brings light and awareness of issues of mentally ill patient who are incarcerated for minor charges. They end up in the hands of staff members who are not trained to deals with patients who are mentally ill. As a result, the patient become isolated in their cells, their mental health illness declines and there are limited resources available for the