The Criminalization of Mental Illness

Prison has been known to impair a prisoner's mental health. Prison has been popular for causing mental health disorders and institutionalization. There are many inmates who suffer from psychopathy, schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression. Imprisonment itself does not cause these conditions, but the effects of prison can enhance these conditions especially for people who had these conditions prior to incarceration.Crime has often been associated with severe mental illness. There is no agreed explanation for the high prevalence of mental disorders in prison. A lot of studies show that the offender's mental health issues predate their incarceration. It can be said that depression and anxiety can be "normal" reactions to prison. People have said that "prisoners are acting as intended." The purpose of prison is to detain "difficult" parts of the population, it should be expected that a large percentage of people with mental disorders are contained within the prison setting.