Expert: Jennifer - 3/27/2009

Question
Im diong a Junior Research Project, and the thopic that i choose was; Should people with Mental Disorders be punished for commiting a crime or is it ok for a person to be let free if they have a Mental Disorders?
You might be asking yourself it depends what Mental Disorder they have, and i mean any mental disorder, Bipolar, Depression, or be physco...
It would relly helpp me allot if i could get an opinion from someone who has dealt with these kind of people..


Answer
  Most of the people who are mentally ill really would be better off if they spent the duration of however long the court determined they should serve in a correctional facility in a psychiatric hospital rather than placing them among the general population inmates.  To the best of my knowledge, the legal system does not excuse anyone from being held accountable for criminal acts that they have committed because they were mentally ill.  Still, there are simply not enough qualified personnel to devote to the task of assessing inmates and whether or not they are mentally ill, so that those who are, may be transferred to the proper detention facility.  I live in California; roughly 30 years ago, the state government decided to close down about 2/3rds of the state-run psychiatric hospitals; those who had relatives were notified of the impending release date (based on when the hospital would be closing), those who didn't were left to their own devices and out on the streets.  During the 1984 summer Olympics, hosted by Los Angeles, the homeless were 'relocated' to shelters, jails, and wherever else they could find room for these people - because they created an undesirable image of L.A. and California as a whole.
 If someone is arrested in Los Angeles county (for example), they are supposed to disclose any health issues and medical conditions while being processed and assigned to permanent housing.  However, there are many individuals who do not know (or believe) that there is anything wrong with them.  There has also been increased inmates' abuse of psychiatric meds obtained through 'trading' and other inmate-established processes; one of the more popular choices is seroquel, for its sedative effect even at low doses.  In most cases that are heard by a judicial officer in the county courts, the insanity defense is not permitted outside of capital offense cases (serious felonies that involve the death penalty if there is a conviction).  I know people who are regularly picked up by the local police for vagrancy, public intoxication, disturbing the peace, and other minor sorts of misdemeanor crimes throughout the year - but for whatever reason, there has never been any interest in trying to identify and address the mental illnesses that put them on the streets to begin with - many years ago.  And I know people who know that they're mentally ill, but refuse to take any medication because it's something that other people use to control them and their behaviors.  However, I have yet to meet anyone who has been set free after committing a criminal act because they were mentally ill.