Early release of mentally ill inmates who are charged with sex crimes Research Paper

Early release of mentally ill inmates who are charged with sex crimes - Research Paper Example Early release of the mentally ill sex offenders is a matter of dispute as there is no conclusive study which analyses the way such mentally ill offenders cope with the community in the long term. However, a look into the various scholarly works shows that mentally ill offenders are highly likely to recommit the crimes due to various reasons, ranging from little or no social support, lack of medical and financial support, and poor monitoring. This work suggests some ways to overcome these problems to reduce the risk without an increased financial burden on the authorities. Early release of mentally ill sex offenders According to estimates (as cited in Rich, 2009), nearly 283,800 mentally ill offenders are held in the prisons in the nation and nearly 547,800 are on probation in the community. Admittedly, the increasing number of mentally ill inmates in the federal and states jails has become a matter of increasing concern for the authorities due to the decreased budget and the conseque nt financial crisis. However, the early release program introduced by the authorities to reduce prison population has caused a very serious problem for the people due to various reasons. In this program, low-risk prisoners are allowed to leave jails before the completion of their jail terms. As most of the crimes committed by mentally ill people are categorized as ‘category one’, mentally ill persons easily manage to get early release. A report dated 1 April 2010 by Cervantes and Wilkens (2010) points out that like many other states, in California too, more mentally ill offenders are released instead of getting referred to mental health care; and from the data provided, it is clear that between 2005 and 2009, the number of sex offenders who are referred to the Department of Mental Health by the Department of Corrections as potentially dangerous to be released to society has increased from 524 per year to 6705. Out of them, as Cervantes and Wilkens (2010) note, the numbe r of mental health cases increased from 238 to 1126; however, it is surprising to note that the percentage of the referrals accepted by the Department of Mental Health fell from 45% to 17% in the same period. A perfect example of what happens in such cases is the case of Chelsea King, a teenager from Poway. In fact, the release of her killer John Albert Gardner had been twice rejected by the prison officials but the Department of Mental Health released him, resulting in the death. A look into the characteristics of mentally ill offenders, recidivism rates, and revolving door phenomenon will prove that early release of mentally ill offenders has a very serious impact on social safety. A look into the details According to The Sentencing Project (2002) report, nearly 40% of all the mentally ill offenders are homeless and an equal percentage is binge drinkers; and moreover, they are two times more likely to be homeless compared to the general population. Another important study by the T reatment Advocacy Center (1999) (as cited in The Sentencing Project 2002), points out that mentally ill population is the reason behind a considerable proportion of violence in society, and the reason lies in their inability to understand their inabilities and the