Abstract
The documentary, The New Asylums, by Frontline, presents the life of inmates with mental health conditions. It depicts the many faces of mental health conditions in the American prison system, specifically one of the largest, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections (ODRC). Averagely, inmates with mental disorders serve lengthier incarcerations than those without mental health issues, are highly likely to engage in violence while in prison, and are more vulnerable to victimization by mates. Moreover, they are susceptible to being re-incarcerated after their release. This shows the challenges mentally ill populations face when incarcerated in the American prison system. The video shows the significance of adopting policy measures that are essential in ensuring the needs of offenders with mental illness are adequately addressed to ensure that the transition into society occurs with less effort. Furthermore, it ensures that the incarcerated prisoners are placed in a prison system that appropriately addresses their health needs and covers them from vulnerabilities that risk their health and life.
Question One
Many research studies show a significantly increased number of mentally ill individuals in the American prison system than in the healthcare system. Houser et al. (2019) described that the number of individuals with mental illnesses in prisons is roughly three times more than those in hospitals seeking the necessary healthcare services. The major reason for the inflated rate of inmates with mental health issues in the prison system is the failure of police officers to implement policing practices (Wallace & Wang, 2020). Law enforcement staff are not adequately skilled to determine issues of mental disorders; hence, they may not adequately identify how to handle any cases they encounter (DeHart and Iachini, 2019). Rather, police officers are qualified to prioritize convicting immediately after a crime is undertaken, and there may not be other options that can be explored when it is apparent to them that they are handling cases of mental disorders.
Besides, the prison system lacks established measures and processes for diagnosing mental disorders and, accordingly, provide the appropriate treatment. An extensive mental assessment of inmates is hardly prescribed unless strong evidence can convince the criminal justice system that it is essential, which is not always accessible in most cases (Semenza & Grosholz, 2019). Consequently, most mental health issues go unnoticed by police officers, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers, eventually leading to increased incarceration rates for individuals handling various forms of mental disorders. People experiencing mental ailments are highly likely to stay in prison for long because they feel to meet good behavior expectations (Grosholz & Semenza, 2021). Inadequate initiatives within correctional amenities can fulfill the health needs of mentally ill offenders, making it complex for them to meet the expectations set by the prison system.
Question Two
Reforms aim to improve the ability of the justice system to efficiently deal with inmates with mentally illnesses and should be focused on both law police officers and courts. DeHart and Iachini (2019) described that most police officers are poorly trained in managing mentally ill criminals, which ultimately results in negative interactions; suppose officers deal with an offender with a mental disorder, which can trigger additional charges. Recently, interactions between mentally ill offenders and police officers have become tragic (Semenza & Grosholz, 2019). Effective training for police officers on how to adequately deal with an offender with mental health conditions will mostly lower the potential of negative interactions and help identify mental illness cases that may require hospital care.
Ensuring that the court system can identify cases of offenders with mental illness also increases the likelihood that progressive cases will be diagnosed before imprisonment and treatment alternatives adopted in a way that promotes recovery (Grosholz & Semenza, 2021). The diagnoses of ongoing mental illness cases before detention will guarantee that offenders are diagnosed early enough and provided with a treatment that will be applied even after the criminal is imprisoned. The capacity of correctional amenities to successfully manage inmates with mental illnesses is also significant in guaranteeing that mentally ill prisoners are critical in ensuring that offenders get the much-required treatments (Grosholz & Semenza, 2021). Currently, most correctional facilities lack programs that can be adopted in diagnosing and treating mental illness cases (Houser et al., 2019). Accordingly, most inmates experiencing mental illnesses barely get the deserved treatment and consequently have a less chances of recuperating. Equipping prison services with initiatives that can detect mental disorders can help reduce reoffending for mentally ill offenders, guarantee that prisoners adhere to prison guidelines and procedures, and have a chance of being released within a short while.
Question Three
Vuk et al. (2020) describes that the key goal of incarceration based on rehabilitation is to rehabilitate offenders and help them become law-abiding individuals and productive in society. The theory provides that prisoners are supposed to acquire education that enables them to make rational decisions and avoid engaging in crime as a whole (Semenza & Grosholz, 2019). Besides psychological training, prisoners are also provided with additional skills to be effective people in society. In their release, inmates can be easily reintegrated into their normal lives as law-adhering citizens (Houser et al., 2019). The theory is quite different from the punitive theory, which conversely focuses on punishing inmates for their offenses.
Currently, the prison system is designed in a way that does not offer offenders with efficient rehabilitative initiatives that allow them to rejoin society after completing their incarceration period (Burton et al., 2020). Such is demonstrated by the increased rates of recidivism recorded in across the nation. The National Institute of Justice (2019) provides that over 83% of ex-offenders end up being arrested for different, although related crimes to one that they previously committed. Introducing highly effective rehabilitation initiatives that ensure offenders acquire life skills would advance their decision-making skills and capacity to live like law-abiding individuals effectively.
Applying the punitive theory to individuals with mental disorders is insignificant and does not always lead to meaningful consequences (Burton et al., 2020). The punitive model believes that imprisonment is a penalty for criminals that discourages them from engaging similar crimes after release. However, this is not factual for inmates with mental disorders because they may not have engaged in delinquency when in an ordinary mental condition and are prospective to undertake similar misconducts when they are not provided with employment in a similar situation (Vuk et al., 2020). Implementing the punitive theory to inmates with mental disorders is consequently not meaningful as the outcome achieved cannot be kept for a long time if the given offender does not acquire the critical treatment.
Question Four
Various effective rehabilitation programs can be adopted to diminish the rate of recidivism for inmates with mental issues, including initiatives that aid each convict in handling the conditions that motivated them to carry out the initial misconduct (Wallace & Wang, 2020). Initiatives focused on treatment can enable former offenders to acquire various treatment alternatives that ensure the illness is at controllable levels and develop them into meaningful individuals in society (Semenza & Grosholz, 2019). The increased costs of full treatment options imply that most ex-convicts with mental illnesses may not have enough money critical medication and are unable to manage their conditions, increasing their likelihood of repeating their crime (Wallace & Wang, 2020). The establishment of state-funded full treatment initiatives can help avert this by ensuring that ex-convicts are treated immediately after being released from jail.
Using initiatives that help former offenders deal with mental disorders to seek employment opportunities also empowers them to handle life better after imprisonment and accordingly lower the rate of recidivism (Grosholz & Semenza, 2021). Vocational rehabilitation is one of the most effective approaches to ensuring that ex-convicts do not resume the previous offenses that may lead them to commit crimes (Semenza & Grosholz, 2019). The approach is effective for those dealing with mental disorders because, besides enabling them to earn, it also limits their time and chances of being able to practice crime. Reentry initiatives that attempt to cater for the short-term needs of criminals as they seek employment can also be meaningful in helping inmates with mental conditions change their life in society prior to employment (Wallace & Wang, 2020). This was meaningful because mentally ill criminals might also need treatment immediately after release.
Question Five
The documentary presents thought-provoking points regarding what mentally ill ex-convicts experience when in the prison system (Frontline, 2015). It clearly shows that criminal justice staff lack the necessary developed to handle criminals with mental disorders, which in many instances leads to adverse interactions that can result in more charges. Generally, the prison system does not have an initiative that can be adopted to address the needs for convicts with mental illnesses (Grosholz & Semenza, 2021). There are no programs from the arrest to prosecution that can help in the diagnosis of mental disorders and accordingly help in prescribing meaningful treatment alternatives. Besides, prison systems do not have effective initiatives to help offenders with mental disorders who are already incarcerated to manage their condition effectively (Semenza & Grosholz, 2019). Rather, inmates with mental disorders in correctional facilities tend to adhere to rules and regulations like all other criminals.
The findings can aid policymakers aiming to improve the justice system’s capacity to meet the health needs of prisoners with mental disorders. Law enforcement officers can be provided with training that would be meaningful in promoting effective interactions with offenders with mental illness (Grosholz & Semenza, 2021). Besides, it can also ensure police officers can diagnose mental illness cases early enough and provide offenders with the appropriate health facilities and social initiatives to help them manage their condition (Wallace & Wang, 2020). The training should be provided to all personnel involved in the criminal justice system, including judges, prosecutors, and police officers, to improve their competence to accurately diagnose offenders’ mental health statuses before they are prosecuted and imprisoned.
In addition, the video can influence policymakers to understand the issues that offenders with mental disorders must endure when incarcerated (Stringer, 2019). Based on the video, many prisons do not have established programs that can be adopted to ensure that inmates with mental illnesses are provided with full treatment for their conditions (Frontline, 2015). Consequently, there are high odds that inmates with mental illnesses may not be able to fulfill the behavioral anticipations and will therefore serve longer sentences than their mates. Therefore, the videos offer critical insights that can be adopted to enhance the criminal justice system’s management of inmates with mental health conditions.
In conclusion, the prison system in the United States does not provide an effective environment to rehabilitate inmates with mental health conditions. Accordingly, the mentally ill population is one of the most marginalized communities in the country because they are not provided with the right resources to help them recover and avoid situations that would trigger them to commit a crime. Although the main goal of the establishment of prisons is to create a safe world for the public, the video presents them as institutions that oppress those who commit crimes due to the influence by mental health conditions. Accordingly, the poor rehabilitation environment leads to recidivism, unlike the desired outcome for law-abiding citizens. Therefore, the prison system should adopt meaningful programs to ensure early diagnoses and comprehensive treatment for inmates experiencing mental health disorders. These measures should be accompanied by extensive training on the criminal justice system staff to ensure that they can easily identify offenders motivated by mental disorders to commit a crime, thus, provide them with the necessary treatment to transform them into law-abiding citizens, which would achieve the ultimate goal of prison systems.
References
Burton, A. L., Cullen, F. T., Burton Jr, V. S., Graham, A., Butler, L. C., & Thielo, A. J. (2020). Belief in redeemability and punitive public opinion:“Once a criminal, always a criminal” revisited. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 47(6), 712-732.
DeHart, D., & Iachini, A. L. (2019). Mental health & trauma among incarcerated persons: Development of a training curriculum for correctional officers. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 44(3), 457-473.
Frontline. (2015). The New Asylums. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/showsasylums/
Grosholz, J. M., & Semenza, D. C. (2021). Health conditions and victimization among incarcerated individuals in US jails. Journal of Criminal Justice, 74, 101797.
Houser, K. A., Vîlcică, E. R., Saum, C. A., & Hiller, M. L. (2019). Mental health risk factors and parole decisions: Does inmate mental health status affect who gets released. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(16), 2950.
National Institute of Justice. (2019). Recidivism. Retrieved from National Institute of Justice: https://www.nij.gov/topics/corrections/recidivism/pages/welcome.aspx
Semenza, D. C., & Grosholz, J. M. (2019). Mental and physical health in prison: how co-occurring conditions influence inmate misconduct. Health & Justice, 7(1), 1-12.
Stringer, H. (2019). Improving mental health for inmates. Monitor on Psychology, 50(3), 46.
Vuk, M., Applegate, B. K., Ouellette, H. M., Bolin, R. M., & Aizpurua, E. (2020). The pragmatic public? The impact of practical concerns on support for punitive and rehabilitative prison policies. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 45(2), 273-292.
Wallace, D., & Wang, X. (2020). Does in-prison physical and mental health impact recidivism?. SSM-population health, 11, 100569.
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