In 2006, more than half of all prison and jail inmates had been diagnosed with a mental illness, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Justice. Incarceration can sometimes lead to death or injury as a result of a mental illness, as supported by a study published on Psychiatry Online.

    The study, conducted in 2006 by the American Psychiatric Association, reported that inmates who have a mental illness are more likely to lose their life while incarcerated than in the outside world.

    Dr. Richard Nakamura, deputy director of the National Institute of Mental Health, believes that those who suffer from a mental illness require adequate supervision, medication and counseling. By closely studying the criminalization of mentally ill, he noticed that mentally ill inmates are not receiving the proper services.

    “The mentally ill should be placed somewhere they can receive all of their needs at the same time, such as a mental institution,” said Thom Brewster, executive director of the non-profit inmate advocacy organization, CentrePeace.

    “Instead, mentally ill citizens are being arrested and incarcerated due to the closing of these institutions,” said Brewster.

     Consequently, this increases the progression of the mental illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. In many cases, an individual who has a mental illness will find himself in jail, arrested for actions under the influence of their disease.

    As soon as an inmate arrives in a county jail, they are given a typical physical. At that time an inmate can possibly be stripped of their proper medication, as reported by a New York Times journalist.

    At 44, Brian Tetrault was imprisoned at a jail in upstate New York. Tetrault, who struggled with Parkinson disease, was stripped of his medication, which helped to subdue tremors that could prove fatal. Ten days after his initial incarceration, Tetrault died after his uncontrolled tremors became too much for his body to handle, according to a 2005 article in the New York Times.

    “I have seen mental illness caused by incarceration. I have also seen incarceration caused by mental illness,” Brewster said.

    Half of all jail inmates reported insomnia, hypersomnia and persistent anger due to major depression or manic episodes that began during their incarceration. Mental illnesses can start as simple anxiety disorders but soon develop into severe hallucinations and delusions. These symptoms, if left untreated, can escalate to schizophrenia, as reported by Bureau of Justice statistics.