Incarceration of the Mentally Challenged - Term Paper Example

Incarceration of the Mentally Challenged In the society today there has been a raging debate on the best way to treat the mentally ill persons in the community. The mentally challenged persons pose different serious threats and risks to the well being and security in the society. However, these people are human beings just like any other with entitlement to the basic rights as provided by the federal law. Fair treatment of all persons is guaranteed under our federal constitution and as a result even the mentally challenged should be accorded the right treatment and care. Recently, it has been a common practice of the mentally challenged being locked in the prisons which has forced many to argue on the best practice of this incarceration. Mostly this has happened without the prior scrutiny of the culprits and their disorders (Grob, 243). It is a common knowledge that the mentally disabled persons have various and highly demanding needs which need be addressed in the best way possible. Significantly, other than pushing to protect the society they live in, the mentally challenged have the need to be cured of their illness which compels them to break the laws. Remarkably, the mentally ill persons are not in the position of making the right decisions due to their abnormalities. They commit themselves to actions without the prior knowledge or awareness of the emergent repercussions and consequences they will suffer as result. Notably, in the absence of their mental disorder these persons would be upright and function normally as the other healthy people. In view of this, exemplary procedures and measures must be established by the concerned authorities to safeguard the incarceration of this suffering group of human kind (Grob, 245). Although the number of persons with mental retardation is minimal an increasing population of this has fallen within the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system. For a long time, the issue of locking the mentally challenged in the prisons has not been the best practice. As a fact, in many states little or no provision has been made for the mentally ill offenders accruing to inequitable harsh dispositions which are very expensive to the states (Grob, 245). More over many mentally challenged persons have been incarcerated for offences they have never committed. In the course of their arrest and subsequent prosecution, many are the times the perceived offenders confess of doing what they never did. This has been occasioned by their childlike ways of thinking and fear of the authorities leading to little long term perceptions. Essentially, such acts and confessions have forced the mentally retarded to wave their rights without a clear knowledge of what they are really doing (Larson et al. 240) In addition, the mentally ill are bound by numerous misfortunes. These people are jobless and as a consequence they make no income. During the pretrial incarceration only those who can afford bails which are typically accorded to the employed or with stable and secure living conditions are saved the unjust and cruel treatment in the prisons. Remarkably, by virtue of the retarded lacking bails condemns them to unfair incarceration (Larson et al. 244). Another challenge faced by the mentally ill is in the issue of securing a plea bargaining during the court process and ultimate sentencing. Though unaware, these persons provide the prosecutors with highly incriminating evidence against themselves than the normal persons. This makes them less successful in bargaining for their punishment within the law. Furthermore, aggressive prosecutors are continuously lowering the credibility of their testimonies which makes them highly unreliable. Factually, the mentally retarded are serving long jails and high rate sentences since they cannot be accorded probations. This has been necessitated by the inequalities of the justice system which advocates granting probation to those of sound mind and possessing great education and work backgrounds (Larson et al. 246). Notably, the locking of the mentally challenged away from the free society is not a better use of the judicial system. This is for the fact that the mentally retarded have continuously been victimized or abused by the general population in the prisons. All offenders are housed under the same roof which makes the mentally retarded susceptible to abuse since they are unaware of their rights and cannot make worthy decisions on their own. This has made the other offenders to take advantage of them and injuriously subject them to great suffering. Incarcerated persons with mental disability are classified at a very high security levels than other offenders. Due to their low concern of corrective program participation and inability to fall within the set performance brackets infuriates the parole boards during their parole interviews. These lowers the likelihood of the mentally retarded to earn parole in time as they would if they were average prisoners. The above reasons expose the inequity of the justice system which is more costly to the public; since the mentally retarded are not provided with a chance to appropriately counter the criminal justice challenges in an equivalent and functional way as the more sane offenders (Larson et al. 249). Truly, the current judicial system has greatly failed this ill lot and the general public by ignoring their plight. In an effort to counter these unjust practices against the mentally challenged, the judicial system must device alternative ways to continuously screen the offenders. Notably, in the course of their judicial process these people must be identified as mentally retarded and accorded the treatment they deserve (Larson et al. 249). Mentally retarded persons are known to camouflage themselves in a way to hide their disabilities and to fit in the society. They are under ‘halo effect’ where they will try as much as possible to disguise themselves as normal though they are suffering to extend that it poses a great challenge in detecting their misfortunes. Remarkably, they rarely convey their limitations to the police especially at instances where they are interview in public settings. This is occasioned by their fear of other inmates and jail staff noting their disabilities which may disadvantage them. Essentially, mental disabilities are highly stigmatized and the arrestees tend to be reluctant in providing any evidence of the disabilities to avoid being victimized. Moreover, the mentally challenged are afraid of anger being directed against them by the police. This has forced many to cheat to lose in the push of maintaining their internal peace (Brodsky, & Bennett, 359). To avoid the inappropriate and unjust detention of mentally disabled people, diversion programs have to be set to safeguard the mentally challenged. In the absence of this measure, a continuous and on-site training of the law enforcement officers and the mental health officers serving in the incarceration centers must be carried out to ensure the provision of the essential mental health services in the jails. Notably, the world of technology is continuously changing and the offenders are neither left behind but are also savvy and hence utilize technology for their benefit. Though they are mentally challenged, this ill lot can at times fathom a lot as much as it is for the enhancement and fulfillment of their alleged happiness. Factually, these people are unknowingly convinced by some other external factors such as persons with personal interests in the jails. Remarkable of these are drug barons who will not miss any chance to make their illegal wealth. This forms the major reason why the officers must be trained to offer the services and continuously detect any misdemeanor behavior by the mentally challenged offenders (Brodsky, & Bennett, 360). Some of these mental health services are the screening of the arrestees before being incarcerated to establish their intelligence quotient and check on any possessions though unaware they may be sneaking into the jails. Further more, there is the evaluation and appraisal of the corrective inventions against the offenders. Different offenders need and demand varying measures and procedures that would attain the best results in their corrective services. Other than being punished for the breaking of the federal law, the mentally challenged have the more pressing issue of their mental incapacity which requires utmost attention to normalize it. Planning of discharge of the prisoners is another equally important service offered to the jailed. Having spent much of their time in incarceration, most prisoners are entirely delineated from the societal norms which guide the life outside the prison. This calls for setting up of controls that will regulate the behavior and life activities of the released offenders. Probation services outside the prison life must be designed to enhance a continuous and positive change for those serving probation sentences in the communities. This will offer the released persons a lee way to enter back into the society ready and prepared to engage in worth activities (Brodsky, & Bennett, 360). Notably less concern and work has been apportioned with regard to the screening of the mentally retarded before their incarceration or during any phase of the judicial process. Many mentally retarded persons are finding themselves locked in the prisons without undergoing fair trial as no one is concerned about their welfare. Many are the times these challenged people have been considered a society outcasts and this has dire consequences as it has influenced the perceptions placed upon them. Essentially, an earlier identification of the developmental and intellectual disabilities of the all persons in the course of criminal justice is of great importance in securing their rights while being arrested and while being tried. This undertaking will allow the admitting duty officers to detect any flaws in the thinking and behavior of the offenders which is remarkably important in establishing their mental wellbeing. This is necessary to certainly protect the offenders from the unruly and bullying effects in the jails. More over it will enhance their safety if incarcerated and ensure that they get the maximum services guaranteed by the federal law while in jail such as health and mental correction services (Lindsay, 115). Several measures are important in the screening process of the inmates to detect their intellectual and developmental disability. These include the use of written formal and general test questions. Notably, formal test questions establish the person’s ability to critically think and analyze life situation that abide by the communities way of normal life. This allows the duty officer to any abnormality that may constitute a mental disorder. The use of disability specific questions and asking about the education background of the offender to establish the instance of special education classes he or she might have taken is also applied. It gives an understanding of the offenders past that may be directly or indirectly connected to the current offence under consideration. In addition, several reliable and accurate reports may be used in the screening process; some of these reports are the attorney report, jail nurse observation report, family report and school records reports (Lindsay, 117). Jail intake screening must be appropriately administered in all the correctional facilities. This is important to safeguard the mental health care and well being of offenders. Notably, it is during the intake mentally ill offenders are detected and diversion programs applied for a lasting and positive effect on the judicial system. To protect the rights of the detainees and safeguard the legal requirements there is the need to establish proper procedures to undertake intake and arrestee classification. It is the duty of the booking officer to ensure the arrested persons are screened to identify the retarded, the ill and secure their necessary medical care before being incarcerated (Lindsay, 119). The National Commission on Correctional Health Care (4) illustrates the guidelines which must be followed by the prisons in providing the essential mental health care to detainees within their custody. These include; inmates have to be screened within two hours after admission by a professional health officer qualified to practice mental health services. This protects the prisoners against unlawful detention and safeguards their safety while in the jails. Sending prisoners to the cells without proper screening forces them to be placed in the company of prison bullies and happy go lucky offenders who considers prison life as their final destination. Remarkably, the arrestees are exposed to unfair and inhuman treatment which in most cases results to hurting them with resolutions of being more hardened to withstand the unfavorable prison life. This is a wrong move since it will affect their correctional services as they tend to be less willing to corporate. Secondly, Information regarding the inmate mental health must be provided to the inmate within 24 hours after reception of the health report and lastly, the inmate must undergo health appraisal in a span of seven days after arrival. This appraisal must cover the inmates’ mental health history, any psychotropic medications, drug and alcohol abuse, hospitalizations and suicide attempts. Works Cited Brodsky, S., & Bennett, A. (2005): Psychological assessments of confessions and suggestibility in Mentally retarded suspects. Journal of Psychiatry and Law, 33, 359–366 Grob, Gerald N. (1994). The Mad Among Us: A Historv of the Care of America's Mentallv Ill. The Free Press, New York. Lindsay, W. (2002): Integration of recent reviews on offenders with intellectual disabilities. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 15, 111–119. Larson, S. A., Lakin, K. C., Anderson, L., Kwak, L., Lee, J. H., & Anderson, D. (2001): Prevalence of mental retardation and developmental disabilities: American Journal on Mental Retardation,106, 231–252. The National Commission on Correctional Health Care: Standards for Mental Health Services in Correctional Facilities (2008). Web. Retrieved from http://www.ncchc.org/pubs/index.html Read More