Comments on: Crazy? Jail’s the place for you http://apublicdefender.com/2009/08/23/crazy-jails-the-place-for-you/ Wed, 25 Apr 2012 01:43:58 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Dr G- http://apublicdefender.com/2009/08/23/crazy-jails-the-place-for-you/comment-page-1/#comment-51190 Dr G- Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:43:58 +0000 http://apublicdefender.com/?p=2394#comment-51190 Interesting article. What might be going on with the rather lucid mentally ill, is they go online under social media and become involved with various communities: some dangerous, and down right ugly. There is a stigma of mental illness by numerous groups, especially in urban communities. So, someone in this community probably has not gotten adequate care. And these illnesses are degenerative if left untreated. Throwing medications at the problem without therapy, does not assist with the environmental impacts or if there are inconsistencies in the mechanisms of treatment. Interesting article. What might be going on with the rather lucid mentally ill, is they go online under social media and become involved with various communities: some dangerous, and down right ugly. There is a stigma of mental illness by numerous groups, especially in urban communities. So, someone in this community probably has not gotten adequate care. And these illnesses are degenerative if left untreated. Throwing medications at the problem without therapy, does not assist with the environmental impacts or if there are inconsistencies in the mechanisms of treatment.

]]> By: Jeff Gamso http://apublicdefender.com/2009/08/23/crazy-jails-the-place-for-you/comment-page-1/#comment-51187 Jeff Gamso Mon, 24 Aug 2009 01:16:55 +0000 http://apublicdefender.com/?p=2394#comment-51187 One set of folks will say that the underlying problem is that we decided some years ago that you can't just involuntarily commit people just because they're mentally ill. Of course, that's not the problem. That's good sense. The problem is that nobody was willing to establish (or fund) decent alternatives. Prison isn't the best worst solution. It's not a solution at all. It's an additional part of the problem. (Maybe in Connecticut mentlly ill prisoners are given meds. Not everywhere. Even that minimal treatment of symptoms puts Connecticut at the forefront of treating mentally ill prisoners.) Prison is the pure consequence of abject failure. But it's not primarily a failure of ideas or funding (though there's that). Really it's a failure of caring. We don't want to see the mentally ill. We don't want to deal with them. We don't want to acknowledge them. We don't want to warehouse them (or god forbid treat them) because that would involve admitting they're out there. So we criminalize them and lock them up not in involuntary commitment for marginally effective treatment but in prison, where we can pretend they're evil rather than ill. And where we can be reasonably sure they'll get worse. One set of folks will say that the underlying problem is that we decided some years ago that you can’t just involuntarily commit people just because they’re mentally ill.

Of course, that’s not the problem. That’s good sense. The problem is that nobody was willing to establish (or fund) decent alternatives. Prison isn’t the best worst solution. It’s not a solution at all. It’s an additional part of the problem. (Maybe in Connecticut mentlly ill prisoners are given meds. Not everywhere. Even that minimal treatment of symptoms puts Connecticut at the forefront of treating mentally ill prisoners.)

Prison is the pure consequence of abject failure. But it’s not primarily a failure of ideas or funding (though there’s that). Really it’s a failure of caring. We don’t want to see the mentally ill. We don’t want to deal with them. We don’t want to acknowledge them. We don’t want to warehouse them (or god forbid treat them) because that would involve admitting they’re out there. So we criminalize them and lock them up not in involuntary commitment for marginally effective treatment but in prison, where we can pretend they’re evil rather than ill.

And where we can be reasonably sure they’ll get worse.

]]> By: Sex Offender Issues http://apublicdefender.com/2009/08/23/crazy-jails-the-place-for-you/comment-page-1/#comment-51186 Sex Offender Issues Mon, 24 Aug 2009 00:21:02 +0000 http://apublicdefender.com/?p=2394#comment-51186 <a href="http://sexoffenderisues.blogspot.com" rel="nofollow">http://sexoffenderisues.blogspot.com</a> See this article as well, which is related. <a href="http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/05/courts_prisons_fail_in_treamen.html" rel="nofollow">http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/05/courts_prisons_fail_in_treamen.html</a> <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/released/" rel="nofollow">http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/released/</a> <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,525751,00.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,525751,00.html</a> http://sexoffenderisues.blogspot.com

See this article as well, which is related.

http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/05/courts_prisons_fail_in_treamen.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/released/

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,525751,00.html

]]>