Running Head: CRIMINALS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS 1

Criminals with Mental Disorders: A Review of Literature

Madison Anklam

RWS 1302
CRIMINALS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS 2

Abstract

Individuals with mental disorders are continuously being put in correctional facilities for

not committing a real crime. This subject area is not widely known; therefore most dont take

action to attend to this situation to figure out why there are more mentally ill in prisons. There

have been many studies showing how there are more mentally ill individuals in prison than an

actual health facility. Most crimes these individuals took part on are not crimes at all; it is the

disorder that causes the disruptions. It is proven that the crimes committed were not intended for

unlawful actions, but a result of the disorders affecting these people. These individuals go

undiagnosed and do not know any better and are being punished for something out of their

control. There are programs being created to help but the numbers of incarcerated mentally ill is

still raising every day. In short, the United States has made it a crime to have a mental illness and

there arent enough programs to help.

CRIMINALS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS 3

Criminals with Mental Disorders: A Review of Literature

There are currently more mentally ill individuals in prisons than in mental health facilities.

This raises the question of authorities on how they are handling these criminals. The mind of a

criminal with a mental disorder puts the occupation of authorities to the test. Its the question of

how the authorities are doing their jobs. On the other hand, are the criminals with mental

disorders, many believe that they arent being approached as they should. This leaves four main

questions to these criminals;

1. What is a mental disorder and how is it recognized?

2. What is the majority of offenses committed by mentally ill?
3. Why are criminals with mental disorders being put in prisons?
4. What is being done to help the mentally ill?

The questions chosen will benefit the subject knowledge of how the criminals with mental

disorders are being treated. This essay will further develop on how these criminals are being

assisted and how these situations arose in the first place. A matter of how of how authorities are

coming upon the criminals with mental disorders and what happens to those criminals afterwards

will explain how these aspects collide.

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What is a mental disorder and how is it recognized?

A mental disorder can cause individuals to suffer and not live a normal life. There is a

broad range of conditions that one can have due to mental disorders such as; schizophrenia,

dementia, post-traumatic stress disorder, etc. These disorders can affect how one thinks, feels,

behaves, and perceives. There are disorders which can cause learning disabilities, intellectual

disabilities, and neuroglial disorders that can affect an individuals actions immensely. There are

disorders for every bodily function, which causes for people to not know right from wrong when

affected by this. When individuals with mental disorders and the law combine; there could be a

Figure 1
misinterpretation that leads to the sentencing of a mentally ill criminal.

Marrie Freeman wrote the article The Psychology of a Serial Killer, showing how people

can grow up to obtain such mental disorders. She provides statistics which prove that neglect

from parents while experiencing childhood have some sort of disorder with their brain. Parents

who simply do not show their child love or show sympathy towards them has an aftermath to

cause those neglected children to grow up with disorders. The growing brain needs support and
CRIMINALS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS 5

love to reach its full potential. It is proven that a child that grows up with love and happiness are

least likely to have a mental disorder than those who are malnourished. (Anklam, 2016)

In figure 1, it shows the brain scans of OCD, Bipolar, Depression, and Schizophrenia

compared to a normal brain. It is obvious to tell that a brain with a disorder is not going to have

the same function as a normal one. With that being said, individuals with such disorders dont

have much control on their actions. Their brain is telling them to do an activity that isnt the

norm for most, which is why some correctional officers go out of their way to try and get them

into prisons.

Mental disorders can also be passed down genetically; child neglect is not the only factor

in mental illness. There isnt enough research to support why mental illness can be passed down

through families but there are signs to warn an individual if one is worried. Mental illness may

not be just passed down by genes as it is not the only factor when determining how the illness

was passed down. To go more in depth, the environment one grows up in also takes part in

mental illnesses and how it affects the brain. This information is useful in this article in the sense

that people are being put in correctional facilities for have a disorder that they did not put upon

themselves. How mental disorders come about is essential knowledge that one needs to

understand to know more about the criminals background and how they came to be that way.

What is the majority of offenses committed by mentally ill?

CRIMINALS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS 6

Crime, most simply defined by behavior against order, can obtain many viewpoints

after many professionals have studied it. Crime is always punishable by law. Depending on how

unacceptable a crime is; authorities can punish an individual wherever they feel suit. This is

where mentally ill and authorities come into play. This also includes the fact that authorities do

look into the fact if the crime was intentionally committed. Meaning, if the crime was

unintentional, the punishment will not be as severe.

The main question is; what are the mentally ill individuals committing to all be put in

correctional facilities? There have been studies to show the statistics of how crimes are directly

linked to the mentally ill. If one has bipolar disorder, the crimes committed were 62% related to

the disorder. As for depression, 15% of the crimes were related to the disorder. Those with

schizophrenia had 23% of crimes related to the disorder. (Peterson, 2014) With that being said,

out of all crimes committed, only 3% of them are violent.

There are cases that are extremely violent but people wanted to link that to mental

disorders. Mental disorders do not always cause crime. There have been statistics to show that

the violent crimes committed by the mentally ill were because they were also abusing

substances. Researchers say that substance abuse is what brings out the violence in some

mentally ill individuals. (Mental illness, 2011)

It is stated that to help these mentally ill individuals, they need to be given treatment.

Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) preformed a study where

CRIMINALS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS 7

they gave mentally ill a psychiatric treatment and compared to those with no treatment. The

results concluded that those who took the treatment were less likely to be violent.

Why are criminals with mental disorders being put in prisons?

There have been studies showing that for every one patient receiving treatment for mental

illness, there are five more than receive no care and are put in prison. (Pustilnik, 2005) Overall,

there are more mentally ill individuals in correctional facilities than actual hospitals. A prime

example would be the Los Angeles County Jail, as it holds more individuals with mental illness

than any other mental health clinic or hospital in the United States. There are approximately

3300 people with a mental disorder that are admitted every day. (Pustilnik, 2005) The

New Yorks Rikers Island jail comes in next as it holds 3000 inmates

with mental disorders every day. This process has developed to

the point where there are more than 150 prisons across the

nation that is considered mental health

confinement. (Pustilnik, 2005)

The government has conducted a study

showing that the crimes conducted by people with mental disorders were

only minor crimes. In short, the crimes

conducted proved to show that it was the mental

Figure 2

disorder rather than intent of unlawful actions. Many inmates with this illness are not charged

with illegal conduct. Most are put into prisons and jails simply because authorities have no other
CRIMINALS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS 8

place to put them. (Pustilnik, 2005) There are statistics to show from a survey conducted that 30

percent of mentally ill inmates do not have any charges against them. The percentage rate varies

through states as South Carolina has a 40 percent of uncharged mentally ill in prisons.

In figure 2, it shows the dramatic increase of the mentally ill being put into prisons rather

than in an actual mental hospital. Not to mention that the graph only ends at 2001, meaning the

rate is only going to get higher unless a solution is found.

The question is still, why are mentally ill individuals being sentenced? Officers admit to

creating charges to bring mentally ill individuals into prisons. In West Virginia, a correctional

officer felt that the mental health clinic released patients too easy. To take matters into his own

hands, he created these new charges to capture them. (Pustilnik, 2005) This does not only affect

adults, as children are also a prime factor in this situation. The incarceration of children can go as

young as seven years old, with the same problem as adults. These children have no charges

against them yet they are being put in juvenile correction facilities because of their mental

disorders. Jails and prisons in 33 states revealed that they obtain children with mental disorders

due to the fact that they were the only ones who accepted them. (Pustilnik, 2005) To conclude

this factor, the United States has made it a crime to have a mental illness.

What is being done to help the mentally ill?

CRIMINALS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS 9

Health services have noticed this problem but not enough is being done to help. There

were programs in 1999 where there was a help facility for released mentally ill inmates. This

program would help these mentally ill individuals for three months before they are released for a

safer living in the community. (1999)

Although, there have been also programs in prisons to help with this problem. This

problem was noticed because a prisoner who was released from solitary confinement killed a

man. This took the attention of former President Obama who put money into the funding of

mental health services. The money was intended to give prisoners the treatment they need

although, this process is taking longer than expected due to the fact that there are still daily

struggles that take place. One major obstacle is that those that are mentally ill are not tracked

through the system or are not consistently diagnosed. The department of corrections also claims

to have outdated computer systems. Not only that, most mentally ill inmates were put into

solitary confinement, thus adding more flame to these untreated inmates.

Most law enforcement officials are realizing this problem and are hoping to try anything

to keep mentally ill out of prisons. The main reason why it is problem to treat the mentally ill is

that there is no money for the treatments. The director of the health services states that mental

health funding has decreased and it isnt enough to meet the needs of the treatment. (Ollove,

2015)

Conclusion
CRIMINALS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS 10

Forensic psychiatrists are trained to help criminals that are mentally unstable and to speak

in court rooms. Their job is to help those in needs, considering that those arent getting

treatment. They undergo months of training, and even have to treat up to 3 patients before

completing their training. Mental disorders develop as an individuals grows, depending on ones

environment will determine if mental disorders appear. Mental disorders cause people to live a

non-normal life full of struggles. In short, if one has a mental disorder, they are most likely not in

control of their bodily functions, depending on where the illness takes place.

Many mentally ill individuals are being abused every day by the criminal justice system

and people arent taking initiative to help assist this situation. From children to adults, these

innocent people are being put in prisons for having mental disorders. Instead of receiving

treatment, officers are going out of their way to invent laws just to put them behind bars. There

are programs being created to help those in prison but there arent enough to help all. There are

more mentally ill individuals in prison than in actual mental health clinics, which some are trying

to fix but it is not enough.

To find such research, the UTEP library helped immensely as is showed effective

academic primary and secondary sources on the topic of mental health in prisons. To conclude,

the databases utilized contained facts from forensic psychiatrists and their involvement in

mentally ill criminals and why these criminals are being put in prisons. Overall, there is help

being done to help give treatment to those mentally ill in prison, but more action needs to take

place in order to make a difference.

References
CRIMINALS WITH MENTAL DISORDERS 11

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Mental illness and violence. (2011, January). Retrieved from

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/mental-illness-and-violence

Ollove, M. (2015, May 19). New efforts to keep the mentally ill out of jail. Retrieved from

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