Book Analysis Essay on Crime, Punishment and Mental Illness

Introduction

With regards to their social treatment, mental illness and crime are not very different from each other. Western societies are still struggling with the thought that having madness can exonerate or acquit someone who has committed a crime. The need to punish a criminal is very powerful, and it is true that leniency can lead to the fear that criminal behaviors can get out of control and make the society to be under threat. During the institutional era, every categorization of social deviance was accorded a specific establishment: the asylums were for the mentally ill while prisons were for criminals. During the period of community care, a particular institution could have all, but it seemed to disappear from the landscape while another one had very many refugees from the first institution. This can be considered the thesis of the book Crime, Punishment, and Mental Illness. Law and the Behavioral Sciences in Conflict written by Patricia Erickson and Steven Erickson and published in 2008 by Rutgers University Press. Their primary purpose is of a higher rapprochement between behavioral science and criminal law.

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The book looks at the problematic circle of the law and behavioral science and the impacts of failing to settle the conflicts existing in these disciplines which seem to be competing. The issue is not new, but it has been accorded a modern form since the start of the twenty-first century since if there is an increase in risk consciousness a reduction in public tolerance will occur especially if there is a threat to the social order. The book gives a valuable contribution to identifying how the preference for the punishment of criminals with mental problems is usually preferred over consignment in the various asylums. Although the focus is on the United States the argument about the criminalization is a global issue and readers from different parts of the world can take much from the Crime, Punishment and Mental Illness by Erickson and Erickson 2008.

The chapters in the book are seven starting with the introduction, to the social constructionist framework of the two authors which is then followed by five distinct chapters on separate aspects of mental illness as well as crime and at the end is a summary chapter which reflects the importance of the issue. The first chapter characterizes the issue of criminalization within a shifting pattern between morally condemning the mentally ill and the need to offer assistance and understanding. This dichotomy is repeated by the authors in every chapter which shows how characterization can be used as an analytical lens.

The narrative in the book is discussed with an extract from some case histories like the current case of the Virginia Tech murders, and it draws explanations from other diverse high profile cases. There is an excellent historical background to help in keeping up with the social constructionist framework in the book. The authors encourage the readers to see the contemporary issue of criminalization in a historical context. This type of approach proves useful in viewing criminalization as a contingent event.

The other chapters of the book explore the problems of the insanity defense, juvenile offenders, sex offenders, and competency. Every chapter has a valuable historical overview, and it then moves on to talk about contemporary issues. The social constructionist framework appears very valuable for this purpose as it clearly shows how the contemporary issues which appear in a different and new guise are in diverse respects to the reworking of some issues that were addressed very many times during the past years and portrayed distinct results.

Seeing insanity as the transformation of religious condemnation is to get an insight of significant philosophical and historical shift which has not yet been achieved up to date since it still incomplete and contested. Discussing competency provides helpful clarification of how relative this concept is and the various political forces have been applied. The authors have carefully selected the case studies to manifest how exposure in the media has influenced the verdict of juries as well as the people opinions. Likewise, the issue of mental illness and juvenile crimes have strong historical connections to the idea of autonomy as well as that of constructions of childhood.

Even though the book of Crime, Punishment and Mental Illness (2008) provides a valuable and transparent discussion of the social issues, I think there are still some arguments which could have been discussed further. Patricia and Steven Erickson argue that some happenings like the Virginia Tech murders can largely be prevented even though it is not very straightforward that this is so. It is understandable that Seung-Hi Cho had some symptoms associated with mental illness, however, a very wide net would be necessary to carefully examine all the people who usually show a course of concern about their mental problems. The issue of gun ownership has not been considered as well as the policing of getting the weapons.

Such issues should be considered as the leading factors enhancing some incidents like the Virginia Tech murder. Mental health services also need to play a role in the early intervention on the cause of these mental illnesses because there is enough evidence which suggests that the risk of engaging in violent activities is usually enhanced during the first periods on the course of the illness and especially if there is no treatment which has been given. The criminalization arguments are carried out in several jurisdictions, but there is no detailed analysis of the cases of mental problems in the prisons before deinstitutionalization in the book. The authors refer to "Penrose's law" which is a theory which states that the number of people in asylums and prisons increases with an inverse proportion of each other; however, their reference of the approach in the book is a secondary one of Fuller Torrey publication. The fact that incidences of mental illnesses are increasing in the prisons cannot be attributed to the invention by researchers but requires a comprehensive understanding of the comparison basis over a very long time.

The most significant issue for me in this book is what appeared to be an assumption that "mental illness" is a thing that is within the stably constructed and a relatively fixed different behavioral and legal science models as shown by the author in the template analysis. It is also summed up in the argument that "the issue for us to understand is why we have chosen the prison rather than the mental hospital" (Erickson &Erickson, 2008 p. 49). The behavioral, as well as the legal models of the mental health problems, have similar grounds when it comes to conceptualizing the people with mental health problems as "different" and "other"; arguing that it consists of diverse models of exclusion.

Conclusion

It is always easy to make some comments and arguments of what you would have liked the author to discuss in his or her book. However, that should not be detraction from the informative analysis of the critical social issue. Crime, Punishment and Mental Illness(2008) is such a vast topic covered in a small book of about 200 pages. The two authors have tried to summarize an extensive range of analysis and research with their discussion posing some questions about the enhancement of the penal, social and health policy in the future. This book can be a valuable inclusion in criminal justice and health organization libraries. It can give useful information to any reader interested in the legal and mental issues.

Reference

Erickson, P., & Erickson, S. (2008). Crime, punishment, and mental illness: Law and the behavioral sciences in conflict. Rutgers University Press.