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1. Mike Earley is told by mental health professionals that his bipolar illness was no reason to be embarrassed. (216) Unfortunately, each time he tried to get a job as soon as the word “bipolar” was said, the interviews were over. (217) The bias against him was very clear. The one job he did get let him go after his misdemeanors were brought to light. Many personnel departments have strict rules about who they hire. What are your feelings on these policies? What can be done to assist those people with mental health issues who want to work? Probationary employment contracts?
2. Pete Earley addresses the issue of CIT (Crisis Intervention Training) for law enforcement officers dealing with the mentally ill on the streets. Earley quotes Lieutenant Cochran as saying there is a “real prejudice” against the mentally ill. Cochran continues: “Unfortunately, the police mirror that, and Hollywood magnifies it by always showing mentally ill persons as violent and dangerous and sadistic.” (354) Do you agree?
Submitted by Bonnie Akkerman I pledge…
1. How common do you think the actions and view of the three officers from block c is in other prisons in the United States when relating to mentally ill patients?
2. Do you think it’s common for the mentally ill like Jackson to be taken advantage of for green card marriage?
Submitted by Parker Siebenschuh I pledge….
1. Do you think lawyers are entirely to blame for the issues with mental health and incarceration, or is it some other or combination of factors?
2. Towards the end of the book, Earley calls for the reopening of mental health institutions to solve the growing incarcerations of the mentally ill. Do you agree that institutions should reopen? Why or why not?
Submitted by Audrey Schroeder. I pledge…
1. I find that police resistance to the implementation of CIT to be a little ironic (and also a bit ridiculous) since, as Earley points out, they already have various other specialized units. There appears to be a serious underestimation of the value of CIT until during such time it could have been used to prevent a situation. To me this makes it seem as if police departments do not see CIT as a valuable form of help or prevention. Do you think this is a stigma associated with mental health? If so, why?
2. Earley states “Our jails and prisons have becomes our nation's new asylums because there is nowhere else for the mentally ill to go,” (pg. 355). In light of this horrific drawback from deinstitutionalization, would you consider a return to asylums an adequate start to a solution? This is keeping in mind the Hollywood sensationalism and stigmatization. Do you think we, as a society, could accept such a reform after all the horrible representations of asylums in popular culture?
Submitted by Lyndsey Clark. I pledge…