American Jails Are Wretched Hell Holes for the Mentally Ill

[damnedifIknow]

In the latest gruesome dispatch from the clusterfuck that is America's corrections system, the Associated Press reported last week that Jerome Murdough, a mentally ill former Marine, “basically baked to death” in his 6'-by-10' (182 x 300 centimetres) cinderblock cell in Rikers Island. According to the AP, Murdough, who was homeless and on anti-psychotropic and anti-seizure medication, had been at Rikers for about a week, after being picked up by police in February on a misdemeanour trespassing charge for sleeping on the roof of a Harlem housing project. On the night he died, Murdough had complained of being overheated. Because he was housed in a special unit for mentally ill inmates, officers were supposed to check on his cell every 15 minutes, but instead he was ignored and left alone. When his cell was finally opened, four hours later, Murdough was already dead and his internal body temperature and the temperature in his cell were at least 100 degrees.

http://www.vice.com/en_se/read/american-jails-are-wretched-hell-holes-for-the-mentally-ill

[hobbit709]

1. American jails are wretched hell holes period.

[malaise]

2. Cruel and unusual punishment

That is a violation of the most basic human right.
Will anyone be punished - of course not.
We've lost our humanity.

[Aerows]

3. A mentally ill human being

on anti-psychotic and anti-seizure medication who was *supposed* to be monitored every 15 minutes was ignored for 4 hours, and the medication could have contributed to him perishing even more quickly because of the excessive heat and lack of hydration. This wasn't in the general population - this was in the HOSPITAL wing of the prison.

Because he trespassed. He wasn't a murderer, a rapist or a child molester. He was arrested for trespass, which I presume he slept in the stairwell to get out of the brutal cold of Harlem in the middle of February.

This isn't a loss of humanity, Malaise, this is a loss of our SOULS if we don't speak up and DO something about this.

[malaise]

4. Same thing Aerows - many among us are empty shells-

our lack of care would shock wild animals. I've seen caring and kindness among feral cats.

[Aerows]

6. I know

It stuns me how callous many of the purported "human beings" can be.

Animals wouldn't treat their own this way, why do we?

I need a hug, and I'll give you one, because you probably need one, too.

[malaise]

8. Here you go

[Jackpine Radical]

5. I'm absolutely with you on that.

Sadly, though, it's just another symptom of our increasingly brutal and malevolent culture.

I've been going into jails & prisons for more than 20 years to do psych evaluations, etc., & have watched conditions worsen as our incarcerated population has tripled.

[Aerows]

7. It isn't even about justice anymore

It's about profit margin. I'm reminded of a quote by Ripley in Aliens when she says to Burke:

"You know, Burke, I don't know which species is worse. You don't see them fucking each other over for a goddamn percentage."

[Jackpine Radical]

10. The for-profit prison industry is the worst of the worst, but

even in the state-run systems, you get things like the guards unions, police unions, sheriffs organizations and Corrections administration all lobbying for harsher sentences, against drug legalization, etc. in order to advance their empire-building aspirations.

[malaise]

11. We're the worst species

on the planet. We never deserved anything this beautiful. We destroy anything in our sight - for trinkets.

[sakabatou]

9. Always have been, I believe

[Jackpine Radical]

12. Yes, but we've been on a 30-year incarceration binge.

Wisconsin, for example, quadrupled its jail & prison populations since 1980. Most counties have built new and much larger jails to house ever-increasing numbers of inmates, and prisons are springing up like mushrooms.

[markpkessinger]

13. Indeed...

... We've been on a "get tough on crime" binge since the Reagan administration. It has corroded the soul of American society far more than any of the "ills" it purported to solve.

[pipoman]

14. Thank you raygun for defunding mental health services. ..

[msongs]

15. maybe but they are profit centers for corporations who give money to congress and presidents nt

[steve2470]

16. It speaks to the dehumanization of the mentally ill

Most people, unless it's a family member or close friend, do not want to deal with a mentally ill person. It's always "someone else's responsibility", namely the cops or the social service system or the churches/temples/mosques. Jail/prison in this country has always been famous for less than ideal treatment of prisoners, so you throw in the disdain for the mentally ill, and you get these horror stories.

Some prisons are specially designed for the mentally ill and have corrections officers who have some basic skills. The mentally ill are among the weakest in society, and they are preyed upon in jail/prison and/or neglected by the officers.