State Hospital Incarceration Case Study

In perspective of the ones with mental illness who are confined to incarceration are as follows:

• Major Depression consists of 23.5% in state prisons, 16% in federal, and 29.7 in local jails. This is compared to the U.S. population of 7.9% who suffer from major depression as their primary illness.

• Mania disorder consists of the majority of mental illness in prison and jails with 43.2 % in state prison, 35.1 % in federal prison, and 54.5% in local jails. This is compared to the U.S. population of 1.8 percent, respectively.

• Psychotic disorder consists of 15.4 % in state prisons, 10.2 % in federal prisons, and 23.9 % in local jails. This is compared to 3.1 % of U.S. population.

• Percent receiving treatment: 33.8 % of state prison inmates receive treatment, compared to 24 % in federal prison, and that of 17.5 % in local jails. This is compared to 13 % of the U.S. population receiving mental health services.

Specific Case Studies

In the case studies of Lorena Bobbitt, John Hinckley, Andrea Yates, Susan Smith, and Ed Gein, all were given psychological testing by the request of his/her attorney.

First, Lorena Bobbitt case was obvious to her defense team that she suffered from some sort of tragedy by the hands of her husband, John, and was found not guilty by reason of temporary insanity, was acquitted on all charges, and served no time for her crime. It was established that Mrs. Bobbitt, a 24 year-old immigrant from Venezuela was a shy, petite, and likeable by all. It was determined by a jury of her peers that she did not have self-control and was unaware of any wrong-doing for maliciously wounding her husband. If she was found guilty, she would have had to serve 20 years in prison.

(Margolick).
Ironically John Hinckley was infatuated and obsessed with the actress Jodie Foster who believed he could get her attention by assassinating President Reagan. At the time of Mr. Hinckley’s arrest he was 25 years old and pursued and stalked Foster for years. Hinckley comes from a family of intelligence and wealth. His father owned an oil company and was the president of World Vison and Vanderbilt Energy Corporation. After several failed attempts of trying to contact Mrs. Foster by mail, Hinckley attempted to kill President Reagan in 1981 to gain national attention and Foster’s love. Immediately upon his arrest, a psychological evaluation was completed and found that Hinckley suffered from multiple mental illnesses with schizotypal personality being the primary diagnosis (New York Times). He was later found NGRI and is confined to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. Furthermore, in December 2013, Hinckley was granted by U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman to be set free with strict stipulations that Hinckley can for “10 days per month, Hinckley will now be allowed to leave prison for 17 days per month to stay with his mother in Williamsburg, Virginia. Judge Friedman also issued a 29-point order laying out the conditions of Hinckley's release.” It has been determined that Hinckley is not a threat to himself or others (Zapotosky & Marimow).
Andrea Yates was a former “valedictorian, captain of the swim team and an officer in the National Honor Society.” Yates was another individual who plead to the court to find her NGRI; however, at her first trial, “The jury found Andrea guilty of capital murder, but rather than recommending the death penalty, they voted for life in prison. At the age of 77, in the year 2041, Andrea will be eligible for parole” (Montaldo). Mrs. Yates attorneys’ filed an appeal and she was later found NGRI in July 2006. “A Houston jury of six men and six women found Andrea Yates not guilty of murder by reason of insanity” based on the following recommendation to the court by Park Dietz, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.