There is ample evidence in the literature supporting environmental, familial and socio-economic causes for mental illness among the incarcerated, including lack of familial support, financial status or access to quality healthcare (Pustilnik, 2005). Among the more common illnesses that temporarily abate but often become worse after release provided those incarcerated receive therapeutic treatment in prison include depression, anxiety and drug and alcohol dependence (Pustilnik, 2005; Bowers, 2000).
It is Bowers (2000) in fact that combines the research of others suggesting that mental illness is very much for many social in nature; thus a criminal who receives parole and provided ample therapeutic support on release is likely to perform well in society, whereas one who is left to their own devices is more likely to exhibit a worsening of symptoms. Individuals on probation who receive no therapeutic support are more likely to demonstrate increasing mental illness especially in the form of anxiety disorders, depression and drug or alcohol dependence (Bowers, 2000).
Rules and Regulations
The government has been slow to implement laws or other decisions with respect to criminals that become mentally or psychologically ill as a result of incarceration (Lawrence, 1987). There have been laws that provide for care for outpatients who are on probation, in an attempt to help them comply with medication requirements resulting from mental illnesses that may develop following incarceration (Gutterman, 2000). Kendra's Law is an example of a law that enables family members, caregivers or others related to a person on probation the ability to seek arrest for someone who fails to take their medication improperly, resulting in involuntary commitment to prison (Gutterman, 2000). This act or law is not considered a form of penalization, but rather a method of ensuring those who receive...
An individual who receives parole and who has had therapeutic intervention during the time of their incarceration may be less at risk for future offense, but this is not always the case, for as Pustilnik notes, as much as 30% or more of the population remains incarcerated simply because they are mentally ill, and their remains an economic inefficiency in society that fails to accommodate the needs of these individuals (Pustilnik, 2005, p. 217). For these individuals, life in prison may seem more appealing than life outside, for at least while incarcerated they live some semblance of normalcy, and are encouraged and led in a direction that teaches them of their own social value, when a therapeutic or medical model is adopted within the criminal justice system (Pustilnik, 2005). There is a great potential for reform if those in power within correctional facilities pay more attention to the needs of criminals while incarcerated; if provided opportunities for therapy, on release former criminals are much more likely to combat mental illness effectively and contribute to society.
References
Bowers, L. (2000). The social nature of mental illness. New York:
Routledge.
Gutterman, J. (2000). Waging a war on drugs: Administering a lethal dose to Kendra's Law. Fordham Literary Review, 68(1):2401-2402.
Lawrence, T.W. (1987). Decision making in the capital penalty trial: An analysis of crime and defense strategies. Law and Human Behavior, 11(1): 133-125.
Pustilnik, a.C. (2005). Prisons of the mind: Social value and economic inefficiency in the criminal…
