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Shelby Morrow Tiffany Isaacs ENC 2135-38 20 February 2017
How may the treatment amongst criminals vary?
Addison M. Duval, M.D. "The Criminally Insane- Our Neglected Responsibility." 1 April 2006. Psychiatry Online. 18 Feburary 2017. <http://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/pdf/10.1176/ps.8.4.10>.
This source discusses the mistreatment and neglect of mentally ill criminals. Just the beginning of this problem is that “in some states such individuals are considered second rate citizens who do not warrant first state treatment.” This creates a multitude of issues, one being the lack of attention given to correctly diagnose the mentally ill patients convicted of a crime. Consequently, there are many undetected mentally ill individuals in prison. A common misconception of “laymen” is that criminally insane patients are so violent that they should indefinitely incarcerated or patients in the prison ward of mental hospitals. Treatment of the patients have increased over the years. This is due to more funding. When the budget is increased, better treatment techniques, personnel, and facilities are obtainable.
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Studies at the Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital have concluded that the majority of their patient’s criminal behavior stemmed from their mental illness, not because the individual was a criminal “in his basic character.” This supports the idea that a plethora of individuals accidently became criminals- byproducts of their illness. Additional concern that this article brings up is the outdated requirements of some states. In many states, a criminally insane committed patient may never be transported even if treatment has found to be successful. This law as well of the design of many hospitals has led many patients to be forgotten. Specifically, this law indefinitely locks up “senile and bedridden patients.” The main concern of this hospital is that many of the criminals first offence was due to their mental illness and once treatment is given, the behavior will not be repeated, however they are placed under security indefinitely just because they briefly showed symptoms of their illness. It is suggested that once treatment is given and improvement is evident they should be released, if dangerous tendencies ensue, security measures of course will continue. Additionally, the design of the hospitals hurts the patients. Many of the hospitals were intentionally built in remote areas, this makes it extremely difficult for family and friends of patients to visit. This furthers patients being forgotten. The proceeding paragraphs are just a few of the concerns of this particular hospital, this hospital is really reaching for better treatment of the patients. This article has opened my eyes to issues within the system. The lack of funds and mal-treatment of patients drastically effect their recovery.
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Brooks, Rebecca Beatric. History of Danvers State Hospital. 19 September 2012. 18 Feburary 2017. <http://historyofmassachusetts.org/history-of-danvers-state-hospital/>. This article truly demonstrates the shift and how overcrowding and lack of funding can affect a mental institution. When Danvers State Hospital was first opened, it was “considered a leader in humane treatment.” Upon the opening of the hospital, the State Lunatic Hospital at Danvers “refused to use physical restraints on the patients and emphasized curing patients rather than merely hiding them away from the public.” However, by the 1920 and 1930s, the hospital was extremely overcrowded and consequently under staffed. This lead to a decrease in quality of care. Lobotomies, shock therapy, “special garments” were used to control the masses. This article once again discusses the consequences of overcrowding and insufficient funding. This article also discusses the worse of the worst treatment towards mentally ill individuals and criminals. This article really alerts the readers of how severe and cruel the treatment at this asylum was.
Chunn, Dorothy E., and Robert Menzies. "Out Of Mind, Out Of Law: The Regulation Of 'Criminally Insane' Women Inside British Columbia's Public Mental Hospitals, 18881973." Canadian Journal Of Women & The Law 10.2 (1998): 306-337. Criminal Justice Abstracts. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Women spoke out against the conditions in the British Columbian hospitals. The treatment of women in the hospitals were nowhere comparable to that of men. “What
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transpired in the female wards at Eddonadale and P.H.I was a distilled variant of the gendered power relations prevailing elsewhere. The asylum walls were permeable to the patriarchal forces that coursed feely through British Columbian society.” The women experienced extensive isolation, dependence and vulnerably. Every facet of their lives was closely monitored (thoughts, feelings, expressions of identity, autonomy, and sexuality). Workers of the hospitals attempted to re-establish their sense of femininity as they felt it was important for health. Unfortunately, “everyone was assigned a psychiatric label,” it monitored everything in an attempt to define and monitor their entire life. Women patients in the British Columbian hospitals, especially those identified as mentally ill criminals had especially restricted lives. There also was a discrepancy between the hospitals for men and women. Men had specialized hospitals for the criminally insane while the women were categorized in general population. “Women were sometimes placed under physical restraints and were commonly confined to single rooms or to their wards, refused ground privileges and leaves, and generally denied even the nominal freedoms accorded to others.” This is a perfect example of how the women were mistreated, they were denied basic rights, totally confined and isolated even though their male counterparts weren’t. “Hospital officials controlled communications, regulated visits, and censored letters.” Additionally, for women their facilities were often quite far from home. “Others were without family altogether or had since been forgotten or disowned.” These women were completely isolated and their “efforts to maintain a lifeline were sometimes overtly repressed.” Before this article I had no idea that women experienced such a difference in the quality of treatment. Not only was their treatment diminished, but also their quality of life. They were
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completely denied access to the outside world, whether it was because of the hospital limiting their interactions or because of the geographical location. These womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s conditions were not ideal, especially for recovery.
Cochrane, Robert E., Thomas Grisso, and Richard I. Frederick. "The Relationship Between Criminal Charges, Diagnoses, And Psycholegal Opinions Among Federal Pretrial Defendants." Behavioral Sciences & The Law 19.4 (2001): 565-582. Criminal Justice Abstracts. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
The relationship between disorders and incompetence were evaluated. It was found that psychotic disorders were the most common amongst criminals deemed incompetent or insane. New York deviants were studied, researchers found that of individuals diagnosed with psychotic disorders, 82% of them were deemed inane. It is suggested that those diagnosed with schizophrenia are less likely to be found criminally responsible. After reading this article, my original thoughts were changed. I thought that a high percentage of murders would be insane. This however is not the case. Sex crime offenders, drug offenses, white collar crimes, and kidnappers all had extremely low rates of psychosis. It is concluded that it simply takes extensive planning and organization, qualities that mentally ill people do not have the capacity of obtaining. Threats against the government and illegal immigration are two categories that had prevalent rates of psychosis, precisely 52% and 59% respectfully.
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In summary, this article changed my view dramatically. Those who committed more serious crimes were rarely found insane due to the extensive planning required to commit such offenses.
Farrington, David P. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Psychosocial Predictors of Adult Antisocial Personality and Adult Convictions.â&#x20AC;? Behavioral Sciences & The Law 18.5 (2000): 605-622. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.
This article analyzed 411 South London males. They were originally studied at eight years old; follow up interviews were conducted until the age of thirty- two and criminal records were evaluated until age forty. The most common offenses were: theft, burglaries, taking of vehicles, violence vandalism, fraud, and drug abuse. It was found that 69% of the anti-social boys were convicted as adults while only 12% non-anti- social males were convicted. One other major contributor to the prediction are those who became anti- social at the age of thirty-two, but not at eighteen. It was noted that this could have been due to situational factors, however still about 51% of these males were convicted as adults. The data found supports the idea that there does seem to be a relationship between having anti- social personality (ASP) and being convicted as an adult. This is supported by the three sets of data collected, even when the person developed anti- social personality as an adult they still had a relatively high rate of conviction (51%) while those who persistently not anti-social had a low rate of conviction at 12%. Major causes contributing to this were: having a convicted parent before ten (48% having ASP compared to the 14% remainder), vulnerable
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background (64% ASP to 15%), 44% of males who had a convicted parent developed anti- social personality compared to the 17% remainder, “low school attainment is the strongest prediction of adult convictions between ages 21 to 40; 45% of lowest attaining boys were convicted compared to 20% remainder.” Reflecting on this article, the results measured up to what I expected: those who had anti- social personality had a prevalent criminal record. The more prevalent causes were relatively expected. The data is extremely revealing, confirming my predictions. This source is also extremely reputable as it a peer reviewed, it has been revised and revised until its approved to be published as a confirmed reputable source.
Hopkin, Gareth, et al. "Letter To The Editor: Transferring London's Acutely Mentally Ill Prisoners To Hospital." Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health 26.1 (2016): 76-78. Criminal Justice Abstracts. Web. 19 Feb. 2017.
The delay of prisoner transport with mental illness was investigated in this article. Investigation revealed that prisoners with acute mental illnesses had a mean wait time of 114 days to 221 days after a referral was made before being transported. 34% were transferred under three months, 27% between three to six months, and 27% took over six months. “Hospital admission delays remain a serious problem in the London area, despite the introduction of mental health in reach teams.” There is a correlation between the delay in admission and psychosis and poor outcome, this may be a violation of “article three of the European convention on human rights by
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constituting inhuman and degrading treatment. This article has alerted me to an issue I had never really considered, the delay of treatment. It is very important for people to get psychiatric care as soon as possible and this article confirms how many of them don’t. This is something in the judicial system that needs to be improved.
Lindqvist, Per. "Mental Disorder, Substance Misuse And Violent Behaviour: The Swedish Experience Of Caring For The Triply Troubled." Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health 17.4 (2007): 242-249. Criminal Justice Abstracts. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
The care of individuals whom present psychiatric symptoms, substance abuse, and violent behavior are referred to as “triply troubled.” The treatment and care of such individuals is evaluated throughout this article. The treatment of substance abusing- mentally disordered people who are not aggressive has improved dramatically thanks to the work of the government, however this improvement is not evident for the “triply troubled.” This allows the researcher to come to the conclusion that the “triply troubled” needs more “extensive professional training, service improvement, method development and overarching coordination and planning.” They need to be prioritized to bring up the treatment and care for these individuals.
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Morgan, David. "Mad Or Bad? A Critique Of Proposals For Managing Dangerously Disordered People." Journal Of Community & Applied Social Psychology 14.2 (2004): 104114. Criminal Justice Abstracts. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
This article discusses the way in which England and Wales manages potentially dangerous people. Reform of their former law regarding potentially dangerous people shifted due to a case where a patient committed violent offenses towards the community. Michael Stone was denied treatment because psychiatrist did not see improvement potential for him. He was refused access to the facility because he was “medically untreatable” when he acted against the community this caused an uproar and reform took place. The 1983 Act protected people from being locked up simply because they may be a danger to the community. A psychological issue must have been present to have received medical treatment. As time went on, England and wales rate of involuntary admission nearly doubled. It suddenly was far above that of other European countries. Resources were drained from common mental disorders to accommodate Schizophrenia and bi polar disorders as they are a threat to the public. It is quite clear how this would cause issues. Not only was there an increase in detained patients but funding was diminished from other sectors which also need the help. Very few patients were detained because they committed a crime, but because of the fear of them harming themselves or others. The fear present originated from the doctors, the article stated how the psychiatrist biggest fears were bad publicity. It suddenly became very clear how it was not about patient’s people who needed help, but a matter of avoiding scrutiny.
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This supports the idea that patients care is not always the main concern, even though it should be.
Plaut, Vicki L. "Punishment Versus Treatment Of The Guilty But Mentally Ill." Journal Of Criminal Law & Criminology 74.2 (1983): 428-456. Criminal Justice Abstracts. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
This article introduces the middle ground of mentally ill criminals. A defendant can be found guilty, but mentally ill if jurors believe that the defendant was ill at the time of the crime. This poses the “middle ground between insanity acquittals and guilty verdicts.” A defendant can propose the defense of insanity, but “the court may find the defendant guilty but mentally if, after a hearing all of the evidence, the court finds beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant: (1) is guilty of the offense charged, (2) was mentally ill at the time of the commission of the offense, and (3) was not legally insane at the time of the commission of the offense.” If a person is found to be mentally ill their probation will be no less than five years with routine checkups reported every three months. This middle ground is extremely helpful. It protects those who are genuinely ill, but perhaps not insane from receiving full consequences of the charges when they were not in the correct mind. This allows there to be something between the two extremes: complete acquittal because the individual cannot be criminally responsible for their actions because they were “insane” at the time of their offense. And the other extreme where they are punished for actions because there is not a strong correlation to mental illness or another reasonable defense.
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Renato M.E. Sabbatini, PhD. "The History of Shock Therapy ." n.d. Cerebromente.org. 18 Janurary 2017. <http://www.cerebromente.org.br/n04/historia/shock_i.htm>.
The mistreatment of the mentally ill of course is not limited to the criminally insane. The mistreatment of mentally ill people is prevalent across all circumstances. This article discusses experimentation in psychiatry. Insulin Coma Therapy and Electroconvulsive therapy were used amongst mentally ill patients. These are extremely dangerous procedures putting patients at unreasonable risks. This article brings mistreatment amongst the mentally ill to light. Patients who are potentially unable to stand up for themselves are being used as guinea pigs in extremely dangerous procedures. Knowledge of the history of this mistreatment of the mentally ill hopefully prevents mistreatment in the future.