MEASURED JUSTICE - MENTAL HEALTH MONTH

Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental illness. Since 1949, the United States has observed the month of May as Mental Health Awareness Month to raise awareness and educate the public about mental illnesses, the realities of living with these conditions, and strategies for attaining mental health and wellness. In this episode of Measured Justice, our hosts Erik Luna and Ashley Oddo are joined by Stephen Morse, the Ferdinand Wakeman Hubbell Professor of Law, Professor of Psychology and Law in Psychiatry, and Associate Director for the Center for Neuroscience & Society at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School; as well as Margo Schlanger, the Wade H. and Dores M. McCree Collegiate Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School, to discuss the effects of mental health on the criminal justice system. Our guests take a look at mental health while incarcerated including access to care, access to medications and the types of charges that can be attributed to mental health issues; the implications of solitary confinement on a prisoner’s mental health; and the fact that prisoners with mental health issues are more likely to be incarcerated for a longer period of time and have a worse experience in incarceration than those without.