Preview

Frontline: New Asylum Analysis

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
252 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Frontline: New Asylum Analysis
Frontline: New Asylums addresses the lack of effective policies to facilitate treatment and rehabilitation for the mentally ill within the prison system. The social injustice theoretical perspective addresses the need for social benefits, resources and protection of the mentally ill within the criminal justice system. The perspective provides equal access of resources to all people and is based on human need rather than political or social power.

The elimination of state mental hospitals was not based on human need, but rather a political policy decision. The shortage of mental institutions creates a shift in the role of prison systems and presents several different issues for mentally ill inmates. The inmates are not medically treated in

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Summary: The New Asylum

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Watching the documentary, the New Asylum opened my eyes a lot. I have heard the saying, “prisons are the new asylum” plenty of times, but I did not believe it to be true until watching the documentary. Before watching it I always viewed the prison system as a very harsh and coercive place, but now I see how much it help people with mental illness. If it wasn’t for the prison system some people would not have a place for treatment. I believe if the government had better funding there would be less reoffender. I say this because once they reenter society they are not able to adapt to normal life activities. In the documentary, the prisoners would be returning back to prison within a month. If they had more steps once they are…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In this article, the incarceration of the mentally ill is encouraged because it is safer than keeping them in mental institutions. It claims that mental institutions are extremely dangerous by their very nature and the nurses there are trained to treat the mentally ill, not to keep them from hurting themselves or other people. In prisons however, the guards are equipped with the experience of a 16 week training program and are able to handle any commotion that might be made without endangering the lives of the prisoners or the public. This viewpoint is contrary to that in Pete Earley’s book because it endorses the imprisonment of the mentally ill, while in contrast Earley strongly believes the mentally ill need treatment, not imprisonment.…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Individuals suffering from mental illnesses tend to fall victim to the criminal justice system due to their uncontrollable actions that result from their mental illness symptoms. Within the United States two to three hundred thousand people in prison suffer from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, severe depression, and bipolar disorder. Sadly, the majority of prisons are deficient in providing the appropriate resources to treat these individuals; people with mental illnesses are too frequently socially mistreated, neglected, and misunderstood within the confines of a prison. Prisons are deficient in correctional staff trained to suit mentally ill inmates, in appropriate conditions of confinement, and in proper medical care to help mentally ill inmates recuperate back to a state suitable for society. Through this inexperienced care mentally ill prisoners are constantly suffering from their agonizing symptoms and further digressing from the society which they would otherwise be able to cope with if treated properly. Fortunately for the United States and the communities it encompasses, solutions are available and possible to institute within our prisons to treat these mentally ill individuals, which will benefit our society as a whole and end the avoidable suffering faced by these individuals and their family and friends.…

    • 1941 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Mentally ill offenders are a growing population in the prison system and different actions are needed to treat, aid, and skillfully support these people. Today these offenders expenses in medical and special care escalate as well as people being trained to care for these individuals. Furthermore how do these offenders act inside the prisons once incarcerated and what characteristics are these offenders categorized…

    • 67 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    The Released

    • 2137 Words
    • 9 Pages

    America’s prisons have become a dumping ground for the mentally ill because non-prison treatment facilities are unavailable or unaffordable. PBS Frontlines documentary, The New Asylum, “goes deep inside Ohio’s state prison system to explore the complex and growing issue of mentally ill prisoners. With unprecedented access to prison therapy sessions, mental health treatment meetings, crisis wards, and prison disciplinary tribunals…” Five years later in 2005 film makers Karen O’Connor and Miri Navasky went back to the Ohio state prison to make a documentary, The Released, that uncovers what happens to the mentally ill when they are released. The Released shows that even though the mentally ill are being treated in the prisons, because they have no stable environment to go to and no way to take care of themselves, once released the inmates soon end up back in prison or homeless.…

    • 2137 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    The New Asylum

    • 1183 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Frontline episode “The New Asylums”, dove into the crisis mentally ill inmates face in the psychiatric ward in Ohio state prisons. The episode shows us the conditions and every day lives of mentally ill patients in Ohio state prisons, and explains how these inmates got to this point. It appeared that most of these prisoners should have been patients in an institute of some sort, out in society, but unfortunately due to whatever circumstances they ended up in prison. According to the episode, most of the inmates end up in prison due to them not coping with the outside world on their own. Prior to becoming imprisoned, the inmates had difficulties dealing with the outside world. Mainly due to lack of necessary psychiatric treatment, the soon to be inmates would get arrested for things such as violent behavior, robbery, and rape. This behavior would cause them to go to jail, and after repeated offenses they end up falling into prison.…

    • 1183 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Regardless of the objective by the Texas Laws, prisoners are not, however, a powerful public constituency, and legislative and executive branch officials typically ignore their rights absent litigation or the threat of litigation (UNHCR.org). With this being said, there is great failure within this objective. Many, even thousands of prisoners become incarcerated without receiving the major mental health services they require. Gazing within, many prison mental health services are woefully deficient, crippled by understanding, insufficient facilities, and limited programs. State budget cuts handed down during the recent legislative session left…

    • 2854 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The population of the mentally ill in prison is growing in result of the individuals not being treated properly in the community and while in prison. Officials believe that if you confine dangerous criminals it will decrease their sense of violence; however, Segregation is not an effective form of punishment for these individuals. Fitter treatment needs to be provided in prison for prisoners with mental illness as well as after their release. If the prison system does nothing, then mental illness associated with criminal behavior will be a never ending cycle in our society. Solitary confinement is detrimental to mental health; the conditions of solitary confinement increase the prisoner’s symptoms and mental illnesses and provoke…

    • 1096 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Inhumanity In Prison

    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages

    It is important that inmates are provided with these opportunities and that they are not exploited when doing so, for example unreasonable payment for challenging tasks or jobs assigned. The experience of prison as brutalizing and damaging is reflected in the percentage of self-inflicted deaths by prisoners. Doubling during 70s and doubling again in 80s (Shaw, 1992), it is an ongoing echo of the Prison Service’s inability to preserve prisoners’ safety (Cavadino and Dignan, 2007, p.213). In addition, the level of violence that inmates are familiar with at the hands of their fellow prisoners also reflects this. It is widely acknowledged that the majority of prisoners suffer from learning disabilities and poorer physical health than the general population. At least 70% of sentenced inmates suffer from two or more mental disorders (Cavadino and Dignan, 2007, p.197). These needs are not being met in prison, thus if rehabilitation is being considered then rearrangement is required to allow it to…

    • 323 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sexual Coercion In Prison

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages

    offenders who commit a equally serious offense and that can’t be too safe for the mentally ill patients. Due to lack of funds for the prisons, most mentally ill patients aren’t given medication to treat them while they are incarcerated and that can cause major issues down the line. Although many states have developed programs for mentally ill patients, it’s a challenge for the correctional administrators to maintain a viable program to treat and control mentally ill patients.…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mental Illness In Prison

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages

    What then is the best setting in which to provide the care? They must look at the scenario of developing acute care psychiatric units in prisons by shifting state funds to departments of corrections from departments of mental health. Many departments of corrections have agreements with state departments of mental health for providing acute care. This approach creates expenses associated with the transfer of offenders back and forth and security concerns, as well as interdepartmental conflicts and communication problems inherent in the difference between handling offenders and handling patients.Suicide is the third leading cause of death in U.S. state and federal prisons, exceeded only by natural causes and AIDS. Comprehensive suicide-prevention programs in prisons are of increasing importance to mental health professionals, correctional administrators, healthcare providers, legislators, attorneys, and others as they seek to rehabilitate offenders and avoid the multi million-dollar lawsuits that often arise from inmate…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Prison Special Needs

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Federal and state levels have a hard time finding the funds to treat the mentally ill who have been incarcerated. Many times mentally ill inmates go undiagnosed or their needs are not met because corrections officers do not know how to handle them. If these offenders are not properly cared for their physical and mental state will deteriorate. This causes them to be much more of a burden on society and the prison system financially ("National center for biotechnology information, u.s. national library of medicine",…

    • 1097 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    The state of prison healthcare in the United States tends to be a complicated issue, largely due to it being a hot topic when discussed with the public. Many inmates are in need of some form of healthcare, whether it be medication, counseling, or mental treatments. However, due to the current environment that these prisoners are in, they may not be receiving the care that they need and deserve. This travesty needs to be addressed and remedied posthaste because while prison inmates may be incarcerated for breaking the law, that does not by any means imply that we as a society do not have an obligation to the wellbeing of these citizens.…

    • 1557 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Federal Prison System

    • 1528 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In the United States of America, the federal and state governments should share some power, while completely controlling others. Certain responsibilities have acquired traits that can only be provided for by the federal government, such as a national defense system. To run and maintain a standing military it takes an incredible amount of resources and manpower, as well as high-levels of leadership. However, there are other areas of policy that the states should control. The process of judicial hearings and incarceration should belong solely to the state government. The United States has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, and at least 60% of all inmates in the U.S. are affected by some degree of mental illness. The variety of…

    • 1528 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In conclusion, many problems stem from mental health illness when brought against the criminal justice system. Mental health illness can contribute to jail and prison overcrowding, high crime rates, drug addiction, and many other problems. After the wide deinstitutionalization of state hospitals, jails and prisons have seen an increase in the number and percentage of individuals with mental health and substance use. Furthermore,…

    • 3605 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays