John Doe Incarceration

John Doe has a personality disorder. He experiences paranoia and delusions, which played a role in his recent arrest for theft of a motor vehicle. Despite his mental health issues, he was found criminally responsible and incarcerated. The darkness in his cell has increased his depression; the confinement has caused him anxiety; the secretive discussions among guards have increased his paranoia. Within the first week, he has an outburst and is placed into physical restraints and transferred to a segregation unit. As a result, he is now living in a darker and smaller cell and is gradually becoming more paranoid that the prison guards are scheming to ruin his life. His condition continues to deteriorate. Is imprisoning John achieving the intended goals of incarceration?
Statistics show that people like John often really do end up in prison. Thirty-five to forty percent of persons brought to federal penitentiaries are experiencing some degree of a mental health concern. While many people suffering from mental illness will never …show more content…
The prisons can be dark and poorly ventilated; there is a lack of routine; officials tend to rely on the prolonged use of physical restraints. An additional problem is that when mentally ill inmates act out, they are often placed in segregation. Segregation can deteriorate the mental wellness of any person but has a substantial impact on people suffering from mental illness. This is evident in the story of Brett Batten, a 45-year-old bipolar inmate. He experienced delusions, which resulted in repeated incidents of segregation. He said the solitary confinement just exacerbated his symptoms. He struggled until the prison officials finally sent him to a psychiatrist, placed him in a medical cell and provided him with medication to treat the delusions. It took many episodes for the guards to realize segregation was not helping and to look for the root of the

Show More

Related Documents: John Doe Incarceration

Essay on Cj227 Unit 4 Project