I leave you with this video after various posts regarding the mentally ill population behind bars. Think about the stigma, think about the harm, think about who are these people behind bars? Are we treating them as humans or are we treating them as deviants and as people we don’t want to see in society. 

In another controversial case, Gregory Despres was found guilty of killing his elderly neighbours but was not held criminally responsible as he had mental illness. This case is a bit different from the others as he did not feel much remorse for his actions and instead welcomed the idea of transfers and treatments. 

This doesn’t provide much closure for the families and they are advocating for him not to be released to the provincial courts. He needs to receive the treatment for his case but he also needs to see the harm that he has done. No murder is just one person but rather, we need to think on a more macro level. 

In one of Canada’s most prominent cases, Vince Li was found not guilty of killing and beheading Tim Mclean on a greyhound bus. Due to his actions such as severing the head and also slight cannibalism and also the unending belief that mclean would come back for revenge, psychiatrists deemed this man to be mentally ill and not responsible for his actions. 

While this case was grotesque and made headlines, since he didn’t get incarcerated, he was placed in long term treatment. As an individual who will now live long term in a psychiatric facility, he will receive the care that he needs but the stigma that came from his crimes are not helping. Mclean’s family continues to push for Li to be locked up for life and thinking in the short term this would be revenge. But in the long term, what is the difference from locking him up for life and just killing him? If he has no place in society, no purpose, he really has no function. If he is deemed sane, could it be better to figure out a better alternative to reintegrate? While Canada’s current reintegration is still in progress, hopefully over time we can create a long term plan that suits both the victims families and the mentally ill patients. 

In 1995, Jeffrey Arenburg committed a murder that shocked all of Ottawa. He shot the Ottawa TV sportscaster Brian Smith but was found not guilty of his actions due to Schizophrenia. He spent 6 years in a psychiatric hospital and then another few years in between halfway houses and then absolute discharge in 2006. 

Everybody should have the right to representation. If we do not allow for representation or at least the opportunity for a consultation, we are pushing society to only allow the rights of certain groups. Nobody should be marginalized and as a progressive society, we must work towards change. 

In 1964, the Mental Health Act came to law in order to “ensure the treatment of the mentally disordered who need protection and care” (Ministry of Health, 2005). This sounds promising at a first glance but like most laws, they still have loopholes that make their actions questionable and we must wonder who are these rules really for? 

First, one of the big issues is regarding the idea of admission into a designated facility for treatment. As long as an individual is over 16 years old, they can voluntary admit themselves with the permission of physicians and a directors approval. (pg.4) but at the same time individuals who are voluntary are also allowed to leave as they please. This raises some concern regarding the leniency of the system and how effective the care would be if it is not round the clock. Another issue is the idea of involuntary. Individuals who do not want to gain treatment can be taken in for treatment if it is deemed necessary by the police, judge or physician certificate. (pg. 7). As these individuals are not voluntary, they are not allowed to leave and they are not allowed to refuse treatment. They might not even be deemed “dangerous” before they’re taken. (pg.9) 

 Another big issue is regarding police authority. While police are trained in restraining individuals and also basics regarding human thought, they are not fully trained in mental illness. To be far, nobody really is. Mental illness is too broad of a topic to be comprehensive. Society could mitigate and the police officer would step in and take the individual in if people were complaining. (pg.12). If an individual is not violent and has not committed a crime do they really need help? 

In terms of the prison system, these individuals have already committed a crime and society should focus on helping these individuals figure out a life long path. If non violent individuals are placed into a system of treatment but they refuse profusely we can’t force them into it. More money needs to be placed in the forensic psychiatric services and growing the public health care system to be voluntary. Giving someone with little mental health exercise to decide who has mental issues is questionable at best and also unfair to the individual. 

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In this slate magazine article, the imagery taken by Jenn Ackerman are haunting. The eyes of the inmates continue to resonate and remind you that inside there is someone who is scared and someone who is haunted by their own demons. To entrap the individual and to keep them constrained is said to be the way to go about it in the prison system. 

Jenn Ackerman didn’t want to use this as a showcase of the terrible prison system and how we can improve it but rather it is to showcase whether or not this system is the best for the mentally ill? 

Without urgent and comprehensive action, prisons will move closer to becoming twenty-first century asylums for the mentally ill, full of those who most require treatment and care but who are held in unsuitable places with limited help and treatment available.’

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