General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Reagan deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill and the incredible increase of crime in the US [View all]Sarah Ibarruri
(21,043 posts)too often (because they cannot take care of themselves) commit crimes, end up arrested. Nowhere along that road are they able to make decisions for themselves, or take care for themselves, because they are individuals that need to be taken care of. IF they had someone to care for them, it'd be a whole 'nother story. But they don't have anyone to care for them in any way.
http://journalistsresource.org/studies/government/criminal-justice/mentally-ill-offenders-u-s-criminal-justice-system#
Many of those on death row are mentally ill. You can google a lot more information, as I don't have the time to do that for you right now. I'm sure you can do as well as I do.
What the solution is, I suspect, is to return to allocating funds to care of the mentally ill, reversing the trend started by Reagan and the Reaganites.