1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910453594303321

Autore

Erickson Patricia E. <1947->

Titolo

Crime, punishment, and mental illness [[electronic resource] ] : law and the behavioral sciences in conflict / / Patricia E. Erickson, Steven K. Erickson

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Brunswick, N.J., : Rutgers University Press, c2008

ISBN

1-281-77639-4

9786611776398

0-8135-4508-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (238 p.)

Collana

Critical issues in crime and society

Altri autori (Persone)

EricksonSteven K. <1971->

Disciplina

614/.15

Soggetti

Forensic psychiatry - United States

Insanity (Law) - United States

Criminal liability - United States

People with mental disabilities and crime - United States

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Front matter -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1. The Social Construction of Mental Illness as a Criminal Justice Problem -- Chapter 2. Systems of Social Control: From Asylums to Prisons -- Chapter 3. Competency to Stand Trial and Competency to Be Executed -- Chapter 4. The Problems with the Insanity Defense: The Conflict between Law and Psychiatry -- Chapter 5. The "Mad" or "Bad" Debate Concerning Sex Offenders -- Chapter 6. Juvenile Offenders, Developmental Competency, and Mental Illness -- Chapter 7. Criminalizing Mental Illness: Does It Matter? -- References -- Index -- About the Authors

Sommario/riassunto

Hundreds of thousands of the inmates who populate the nation's jails and prison systems today are identified as mentally ill. Many experts point to the deinstitutionalization of mental hospitals in the 1960's, which led to more patients living on their own, as the reason for this high rate of incarceration. But this explanation does not justify why our society has chosen to treat these people with punitive measures. In



Crime, Punishment, and Mental Illness, Patricia E. Erickson and Steven K. Erickson explore how societal beliefs about free will and moral responsibility have shaped current policies and they identify the differences among the goals, ethos, and actions of the legal and health care systems. Drawing on high-profile cases, the authors provide a critical analysis of topics, including legal standards for competency, insanity versus mental illness, sex offenders, psychologically disturbed juveniles, the injury and death rates of mentally ill prisoners due to the inappropriate use of force, the high level of suicide, and the release of mentally ill individuals from jails and prisons who have received little or no treatment.