From the BBC: US relies on prisons to provide mental health therapy

Now that is not the electric chair. It is a chair where a mentally ill inmate was strapped into for 17 days.

The US now relies on its criminal justice apparatus--prisons and jails especially--to provide mental health therapy for the ill.

It all started in the 1960s when state hospitals closed down with the expectation that people would get help in their own communities. Only, the resources needed were not directed there (and they still are not).

The result? We arrest people who suffer from brain disorders and then get them help behind bars.

So, the largest provider of mental health services in the US is the LA County Jail, followed by the NY jail system.

Imagine if we did this for people with heart disease or cancer. Arrest 'em and lock 'em up so that they can get help.

What a shameful practice and legacy.

You rarely see this in the US press. At least the BBC is talking about it.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12532538