Mentally Ill and Criminal Behavior

Mental Illness and Crime

Virginia Tech is a prestigious private university on the east coast of America that might forever be associated with the skewed actions of one man. Seung-Hui Cho was a fourth year student at Virginia Tech and was responsible for the deadliest rampage this university has ever seen. Born in South Korea in 1984, it was eight years later that Cho received permanent residency in the United States. In the wake of such extreme violence and tragedy, people can't help but ask themselves if something could have been done instead to prevent this act of violence or if these actions could have been predicted in some manner. This is particularly true given the fact that Cho was ordered by a judge to receive mental health care in 2005. This paper will take a look at the relationship between mental illness and serious crimes.

• How often are mentally ill patients involved in serious crimes?

This is a really important question to ask, as there's a necessity to debunk much of the mythology between mental illness and crime. The media blows a great deal out of proportion

"In a study of crimes committed by people with serious mental disorders, only 7.5% were directly related to symptoms of mental illness, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

Researchers analyzed 429 crimes committed by 143 offenders with three major types of mental illness and found that 3% of their crimes were directly related to symptoms of major depression, 4% to symptoms of schizophrenia disorders and 10% to symptoms of bipolar disorder" (apa.org, 2014). Quite commonly, when people hear about crimes and mental illness, they're general in major news stories, with the media making a big deal about the fact that the criminal suffered from a certain amount of mental illness. The reality that researchers have come across time and again is that people with mental illness are not violent, not criminal and seldom dangerous (apa.org, 2014).

• Is there statistical data showing a correlation between mental illness and criminal behavior?

There is statistical data available, but the data doesn't show a high level of correlation between the two elements. The amount of crimes attributed to mental illness really just amounts to around one in every five crimes committed (apa.org, 2014).

• Give an example of another mentally ill person involved in serious crime. Discuss the details of his or her crime.

One instance of an individual engaging in serious crime who was known or later found to have mental illness was Dylan Klebold, one of the gunmen who were responsible for the Columbine school shooting. "A key aspect of Klebold's mental illness was severe depression and suicidal thoughts, both commonly found in people with schizoptypal personality disorder given their general sense of worthlessness and social isolation" (Greenspan, 2011). Many experts have speculated that if Dylan had just received help at the right time, things might have gone very differently for him, and he might have been able to grow into a well-rounded adult.

• Can Cho Seung-Hui's act and the act of the person in the chosen example be attributed to mental illness? Why? Explain and provide a rationale for your answer.

Yes, both their actions can be attributed to mental illness because both of their actions were characterized and motivated by a lack of touch with reality. There were delusional qualities at work, in conjunction with extreme social isolation in addition to a lack of proper mental functioning. The inability to connect with reality was characterized by the fact that both individuals felt compelled to take out their anger and sadness out on other people.