More Mentally Ill People In Jails vs Institutions

[Masark]

Not guilty by reason of insanity is an incredibly hard defense to pull off.

But but but, TV!

[Wells]

But but but, TV!

And its thanks to constant TV plots involving people abusing it that its gotten harder to use than it probably should be. Juries end up assuming the defendant is faking.

[JohnBrown1917]

And its thanks to constant TV plots involving people abusing it that its gotten harder to use than it probably should be. Juries end up assuming the defendant is faking.

Why do they still keep using juries anyway? Letting people with no experience have influence over the case seems silly.

[Wells]

Why do they still keep using juries anyway? Letting people with no experience have influence over the case seems silly.

You've got a better system?

[Kujako]

You've got a better system?

[JohnBrown1917]

You've got a better system?

Not using a Jury? I'm pretty sure we don't have those around here.

[Ebildays]

I don't know if this is so much a failing of our mental health system or the fact that we cannot force people to stay in institutions to get help or keep taking their meds.

[Deleted]

I don't know if this is so much a failing of our mental health system or the fact that we cannot force people to stay in institutions to get help or keep taking their meds.

You don't have an equivalent public protection clause to section the mentally ill?

[Dezerte]

Not using a Jury? I'm pretty sure we don't have those around here.

We only have them in special cases (usually press-freedom cases).

[Daelak]

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2014...sons-and-jails

I know we already have a bad system going on, but I didn't know we had this many people with severe mental issues behind bars. Then when we add in the fact we often times stick people in solitary confinement, more often than just about any other country, it's obvious we're not helping them in the long run.

De-institutionalization, under the guise of "let the states have more power!" shtick. States underfunded and closed the vast majority of their facilities because no one gave a damn.

[matt4pack]

Most institutions before the 80's weren't very pleasant places so to act like we somehow treated mental issues better before or it's Reagan's fault is really clueless.

Yes as someone else said more people were put in institutions back then but they were pretty much prisons back then anyway so they could handle the ones today's institutions can't.