The Human Rights Watch organization has charged the United States with very serious allegations. In a recently published 127 page report, they accuse the judicial and prison systems of intentionally mistreating prisoners who are mentally ill. It is estimated that one in five prisoners has a compromised mental heath, whether it be bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, major depression, or another illness. Although officers are allowed to use necessary force in order to control disruptive prisoners, the organization has provided examples of this brutality taken way too far. In one instance, a schizophrenic man allegedly defecated on the floor of his cell and refused to clean it up. As punishment, he was put in a scalding shower whose temperature he could not control. Forty minutes later, he was dead.
If they can get true evidence of these instances, then they are most definitely crimes. If a person is not physically able to help themselves, then the prison system should not be able to take over the judicial system and sentence them to death. With all the reform that occurred in the 1900's of mental and prison systems, it is amazing that this is still going on. It is hard to believe that one in five prisoners are mentally ill. If they were helped before they committed crimes, than the prisons would not be so full and people would not be crammed in. Also, this brutality would not occur for things they have no control over. This is cruelty and the prison system should be examined and consequences should be implemented. It's 2015, and this is no way to treat other human beings.
http://www.hrw.org/news/2015/05/12/united-states-force-against-prisoners-mental-illness
I agree. Also, schizophrenia is one of the worst mental illnesses. If someone with schizophrenia isn't treated and locked up, they can act out in ways that they have absolutely no control over. This is the same for people with OCD, and other mental illnesses such as. So the fact that prison system neglect to recognize the uncontrollable urges and actions not only hurts the prisoners, but the system and the prisons and the guards as well. Dorothy Dix would not be happy about this, and neither am I.
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