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Disabilities In Prisons

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Disabilities In Prisons
People with disabilities are significantly overrepresented in the nation’s prisons and jails today. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that fully 1 in 5 prison inmates have a serious mental illness (Vallas, 2016). As a result of this increase in population, these facilities are inadequately funded and staffed to provide mental health treatment to prisoners who are sentenced as a result of their mental illnesses (Gilna, 2016).
North Carolina is one state that is addressing this issue. In 2014 North Carolina was cited for neglect and abuse of prisoners with psychiatric disabilities. One inmate died in solitary confinement and the autopsy revealed the cause of death being dehydration. In response to this North Carolina corrections chief

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