Nicholas Kristof continues the dialogue on mental health in the New York Times . Todays OpEd is near to our hearts in piece on criminalizing mental illness. Now we as a society have, in effect, returned to the 1800s. Some facts: • Nationwide in America, more than three times as many mentally ill people are housed in prisons and jails as in hospitals, according to a 2010 study by the National Sheriffs’ Association and the Treatment Advocacy Center. • Mentally ill inmates are often preyed upon while incarcerated, or disciplined because of trouble following rules. They are much more likely than other prisoners, for example, to be injured in a fight in jail, the Justice Department says. • Some 40 percent of people with serious mental illnesses have been arrested at some point in their lives. In the 1800s, Dorothea Dix led a campaign against the imprisonment of the mentally ill, leading to far-reaching reforms and the establishment of mental hospitals. Now we as a society have, in effect, returned to the 1800s. nytimes/2014/02/09/opinion/sunday/inside-a-mental-hospital-called-jail.html?_r=0 cc: Vera Institute of Justice Piper Kerman BELLEVUE HOSPITAL CENTER National Institute of Mental Health NAMI
Posted on: Sun, 09 Feb 2014 15:40:25 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015