Human Rights Watch released a report today, Callous and Cruel, that describes in chilling detail the degree to which “unnecessary, excessive, and even malicious force” is used in jails and prisons throughout the U.S. to control inmates with serious mental illness such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
For some inmates with mental illness, these abusive tactics result in serious injuries or even death. In virtually all cases, these tactics cause extreme psychological distress and often a worsening of symptoms that leave individuals unable to function in correctional settings and wholly unprepared to successfully reenter communities after incarceration. Human Rights Watch engaged in extensive review of court cases and interviewed more than 125 current and former correctional officials and a variety of experts in compiling its report. The report documents use of tactics against individuals with serious mental illness such as spraying them with painful chemicals, shocking them with electric stun guns, and strapping people in restraint chairs or beds for days at a time. It also documents severe physical beatings that have resulted in serious injuries or deaths.
[For more of this story go to http://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI...to-End-an-American-T]
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