The Tragic Toll of Mental Illness Behind Bars
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Mental health disorders are rampant in America’s correctional facilities — in many cases, our prisons and jails are the main providers of mental health treatment in their municipalities. Furthermore, prisons and jails routinely subject people with mental illness to environments that radically exacerbate their condition, often to the point of suicide or self-harm. Why do so many mentally ill people end up behind bars, and what are the consequences for those inmates? How are correctional facilities coping — and is it working? What can be done to improve how we treat these people?
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Katie Keith is director of the Health Policy and the Law Initiative at Georgetown University Law Center, where she is adjunct professor of law. Keith’s analysis focuses on way...
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