Prisons are known to be the epitome of punishment for committing crime, to make the perpetrator suffer and be deprived of all their liberties and freedoms, but when does the punishment turn into mental torture?
Suicide rates in the prison systems have been a recent hot topic, the general conversation nationally about mental health has opened up within the last few years and even more recently mental health within the prison systems. Personally, I find that the mental health in prisons is significantly less likely to be addressed and this doesn’t just include those who develop these issues while incarcerated it also includes people who get incarcerated with mental illnesses. Many people who become incarcerated suffer from some level of a mental illness and take medications; something that they no longer have access too while in prison and for some people that is a devastating and painful experience.
There are many cases across the country that the inmates are denied access to their medications that they have become so reliant on and as a result their health deteriorates to the point that suicide seems like a great, if not, their only option and most of them act on it. This doesn’t just stay within the prison facility either; some cases the pain and suffering they dealt with in prison follows them out into the world. It doesn’t take long for these feelings of depression and anxiety to take over the joys of being free again, or even being on parole, very quickly. The amount of mental torment these prisoners endure continue on, assuming though, that they do in fact get released at some point.
One thing I grew up learning my whole life was that America was this peak in terms of treatment and power to show and guide the rest of the world. As I grown up I’ve been presented the harsh reality it’s never been this ideal picture, we condemn people for treating their people so terribly but in America its ok, as long as they’re a criminal. It’s wrong and there so much change that is needed that its hard to pin point exactly where to start, If it were up to me though, I’d begin with treating the prisoners like they’re humans and need their basic necessities met. Though people say they are met, they have food, water, and shelter, but to which the level of these needs are met are not substantial to meet a humans needs and its the most basic step to make the changes to make prisoners feel more humane. After that it would be addressing the mental health crisis and about getting medication to those who need it or therapy who want it. Overall, there are basic changes to make that could also help play a role in how a prisoner could feel more human which could also result in some of these mental health changes that we see continuous issues with today.
Justice's Blog 
Hi Justice.
I am vastly interesting in your post regarding mental health in prisons. This is a topic that I personally have been researching lately and I also believe that being incarcerated is detrimental for those who suffer from mental health disorders. If you asked me four years ago if a criminal deserves every punishment coming to them, I would unfortunately probably have said yes, no matter what it is. However, now that I am educated and understand mental health and that there are sometimes a reason behind a persons actions, I believe that mental health treatment in jails and prisons need to be reformed. Suicides in prison have been in our headlines frequently lately, I think it is time people start to investigate as to why that is.
-Erica Masse
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I meant Interested* and needs* ^
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Interesting read, I like that you started with a question and then started to break it down piece by piece. However, how did you know that inmates around the country are being denied access to receiving medication? And also, how did you know that suicide rates in the prison systems have been a recent hot topic? Overall, I also agree that mental illness plays a huge role in prison suicide rates as some inmates tend to lose sight of reality and start to get lost inside their own heads. The last paragraph does a great job connecting everything together and shows readers that you took the time to organize your thoughts before you started writing.
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I agree with your post 100% Justice. I always believed that prisoners get treated poorly and unfairly because they’re criminals. I always felt as though they’re still human and need to be treated like it. A lot of prisoners do struggle with mental health because they don’t get medication for it because they’re seen as “criminals”. It isn’t fair to me and I dislike it 100%. I feel like majority of the time prisoners end up going back to jail because they aren’t getting the right treatment they deserve.
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Hey,
I completely agree that criminals develop many mental health issues while incarcerated. I think there is a lot of factors that cause this or make conditions worse if an inmate is entering prison already with a mental issue. Prisoners should receive a form of punishment, but should not be treated as poorly as they are. They are still human beings and need to the normal aspects of life in order to function. I also think it is terrible how some inmates are denied access to any medications because this can cause withdraws, more mental health issues, behavior and mood changes, etc. Growing up, I also was taught that people get punishments for breaking the law, but never noticed that harsh reality of how they actually are treated until the middle of high school.
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