A & E Investigative Reporting Episodes on Mental Health

A&E Investigative Reports

UPCOMING EPISODES:

NY Justice: The Mental Health Dilemma November 18 at 10pm/2am ET and PT

By following the criminal cases of acutely mentally ill people accused of serious crimes, IR: NY JUSTICE: THE MENTAL HEALTH DILEMMA explores the explosive intersection between psychiatry and the law, and their often diametrically opposed goals. The program also follows mentally ill felons as they leave the correctional setting and go back out onto the streets.

IR: NY JUSTICE: THE MENTAL HEALTH DILEMMA recalls that in the late '70s the courts ordered the closing of mental institutions across the State of New York. At that time, there were 90,000 beds for the mentally ill. Today there are only 6,000. During the decades that followed 50,000 untreated patients have been dumped onto New York City's streets. They usually end up in the criminal justice system and are swept into prisons. Law enforcement and court officials are aware of the problem, but there is no political will to solve it. Incarceration is a horrible remedy for those who are mentally ill and they're often the most abused inmates - ending up in solitary confinement. Inevitably, they'll leave prison only to return over and over again. The fight for justice is left to a handful of dedicated public lawyers who are underpaid and overworked. One schizophrenic is facing a charge that carries a 5- t0 15-year sentence for stealing hand lotion from a drug store. Another, a 17-year-old paranoid psychotic, faces charges of attempted murder that carry a sentence of 15 years to life. Mentally ill convicts released on parole are literally left on the street with little or no support. Up to 95% of them are homeless. Viewers accompany a veteran parole officer on his daily rounds as he offers guidance and support to mentally ill ex-felons back on the streets.

UPCOMING EPISODES:

Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity Tune in November 25 at 9pm/1am ET and PT

IR: NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY examines the "insanity" verdict from all its angles. With unprecedented access to the Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center in New York City, this probing documentary allows the patients to answer questions in their own words: Why do so many mentally ill people end up in the criminal justice system? How hard, or how easy, is it to get into a forensic hospital? How hard is it to get out?

In addition, IR: NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY follows defense attorney Bob Peck, who specializes in the insanity plea, as he aids a defendant pleading insanity, participates in attorney-client discussions about the difficulties of attaining the plea, and aids psychiatrists in determining the mental stability of inmates. Those interviewed include patients, mental health experts, psychiatrists, a psychologist, a family member of a patient, a former patient, lawyers and defendants on trial.

This 'Mental Health E-News' posting is a service of the New York Ass'n of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, a statewide coalition of people who use and/or provide community mental health services dedicated to improving services and social conditions for people with psychiatric disabilities by promoting their recovery, rehabilitation and rights.

To join our list, e-mail us your request and, where appropriate, the name of your organization to NYAPRS@aol.com

Last Updated on 04/14/04 webmaster@namiscc.org

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