Jail offers no cure

Prisons and jails are not designed to be therapeutic.

Yet they are the home of nearly 300,000 Americans with mental illnesses, a large number of whom are imprisoned because of actions at least partially resulting from the symptoms of their disorders.

Especially given the minimal psychiatric care in many correctional facilities, it is not surprising that many of these same individuals are unable to follow prison rules set to maintain order among prisoners. Penalties for these violations include loss of privileges, serving full sentences, and time – for many almost all their time – in isolation. Psychiatric News took a look at this issue …