Letters

[摘要] We read with interest Zhou and Ford’s article “Analyzing the Relationship Between Mental Health Courts and the Prison Industrial Complex.” 1 This important article is relevant to a problem that many have sought to address: the over-representation of people with severe mental illness within our criminal justice system. In discussing mental health court (MHC) outcomes, the authors note both the general effectiveness of MHCs at promoting decarceration as well as the variability that detracts from MHC outcomes. Examining MHCs through an abolitionist lens, Zhou and Ford’s timely article compels us to examine whether MHC efforts at preventing incarceration may unwittingly serve to perpetuate it.

[学科分类] 儿科学

[关键词] racism;mental health courts;crime prevention;schizophrenia;bipolar disorder