Thousands of people with mental illnesses are locked in our prisons and jails – in abusive conditions with little access to treatment. For the sake of human dignity, we must treat mentally ill offenders with respect. For our protection, we must give them quality care that helps them break out of cycles of crime. Take action for justice and safety!
For more information on mental health in the prisons, visit the Mental Health key issue page.
Pray
- Pray for hope and healing for the thousands of men and women with mental illnesses in our prisons and jails.
- Pray that the guards and other inmates would have compassion on mentally ill offenders and treat them with dignity and respect.
- Pray for state officials to see the wisdom of community-based treatment for mentally ill offenders, and pray that God would raise up judges and court staff who are eager to run alternative punishment programs that keep these offenders out of prison.
- Pray that more people would be moved with compassion for the mentally ill and work within their communities to provide services and care that keep the ill from behaviors that lead to arrest.
- Pray that God would raise up people with hearts of compassion and wisdom to mediate between offenders with mental illness and local police.
- Pray that prison officials would ensure quality, compassionate care for mentally ill inmates in their facilities.
Spread the Word
Talk with your family and friends about why we must oppose the mass imprisonment of the mentally ill.
- Four out of the five most common offenses for mentally ill offenders are nonviolent offenses. These people pose minimal risk to the public and should receive help outside of prison cells to overcome their behavioral problems. (A Guide to Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System, National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2008)
- Locking up offenders with serious mental illness is cruel and counterproductive. Keeping them behind bars exposes them to extensive abuse and often makes their mental conditions far worse. (Confronting Confinement, The Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons, 2006)
Hold the government accountable
Write a letter to your newspaper about what must change in our corrections system.
Dear Editor:
The statistics are staggering. Serious mental illnesses fester in our prisons and jails at rates three times higher than the general population. Prisons and jails have become the dumping ground for the mentally ill in our country.
And we are only worse off because of it. Mentally ill offenders are particularly vulnerable to abuse behind bars. Also, warehousing them in hostile conditions and without treatment only makes it more difficult for them to avoid criminal behavior once they are released.
Most of these men and women have no business being in prison in the first place. Four out of the five most common offenses mentally ill inmates commit are nonviolent offenses. These people do not threaten our safety, and they would be far better off receiving treatment outside of a prison cell. This would also cut prisons costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
We need to follow the example of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Systemwide Mental Assessment Response Team (SMART), in which police and mental health specialists work together to move unstable mentally ill people into treatment rather than jail. And, we need to follow the example of Alaska and New York’s mental health courts, which require nonviolent mentally ill offenders to complete supervised treatment in the community rather than serve prison terms.
Locking up nonviolent, mentally ill offenders is shameful, counterproductive, and costly. There are far better, proven ways to bring peace and health to our communities.
Change the Law
Write to your members of Congress and urge them to stop the mass incarceration of the mentally ill.
Dear Representative / Senator ______________:
Locking up people with mental illness should be a horror of the past. Yet, increasing numbers of this population are today caught in our criminal justice system. Rates of serious mental illness, such as schizophrenia and depression, fester in our prisons and jails at rates three times higher than the general population.
The mass incarceration of the mentally ill in the United States is degrading to human dignity, counter productive, and a significant cost, mentally ill inmates are exposed to significant abuse in our correction facilities, and denying proper treatment behind bars makes them all the more likely to reoffend once released. Four out of the five most common offenses of mentally ill prisoners are nonviolent offenses. The cost to taxpayers of imprisoning these non-dangerous people is staggering.
Rather than warehousing these offenders, we should supervise them in the community while treating their mental illnesses. Alaska and New York are two states that have started using mental health courts with remarkable success—and at a far lesser cost than incarceration. Please advocate for alternative punishments such as these, which hold offenders accountable and provide the tools for them to become healthy, contributing members of our communities. Respect for justice and concern for our communities requires that we cease the mass incarceration of this vulnerable population.
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