Rights of the Mentally Ill

¶ … Rights of the Mentally Ill when Safeguarding Society

The general public seems to have a perception that mentally ill people are somehow all dangerous to society. Part of this misconception is fueled by the idea of insanity pleas, and the notion that mentally ill people are somehow unable to tell right from wrong or unable to control their behavior when they get an urge to harm themselves. This may be true for some people suffering from mental illness; in fact, it is undoubtedly true of some people suffering from mental illness. However, the perception that, as a group, the mentally ill are more dangerous than general society is simply untrue. The reality is that most people who engage in violence are not suffering from any type of mental illness. In fact, the mentally ill are statistically no more likely to be a danger to others than the general public. The conflict between what the data suggests and public conceptions makes it clear that there are several issues to consider when looking at the rights of the mentally ill to live outside of mental hospitals and the idea of safeguarding society from those who pose a danger due to mental illness.

The first issue to consider is that every mentally ill person is, first and foremost, an individual who suffers from mental illness. By this statement, what is meant is that each person must be considered on an individual basis. To deprive a person of his liberty, it is not enough to establish that a person has a mental illness, but also to establish that he poses a danger to himself or others. Typically, in a legal setting, establishing danger involves examining the events preceding an attempt at an involuntary commitment. Did the person somehow manifest or display an attempt to harm himself or others? More importantly, was this attempt linked to a mental illness? A person with depression who made a failed suicide attempt would clearly fall into the classification of being a danger to self or others because of a mental illness. However, a spouse abuser who tried to kill his wife may not fall under that classification, even if he incidentally suffered from depression, unless that depression could be causally linked to the triggering incident.

The second consideration is that not all mental illnesses are associated with the same risk of violence. The American Psychiatric Association revises its mental illnesses with enough frequency to make it clear that they are only now just beginning to understand the complexity of mental illness. Therefore, while a century ago it may have been appropriate to lock away everyone suffering from mental illness as a means of protecting society, that approach is no longer warranted. Some mental illnesses are associated with a greater risk of harming others than other mental illnesses. For example, people suffering from depression pose a risk of harming themselves, but may also pose a greater risk of harming themselves. However, while many people assume that schizophrenics are all dangerous because of delusions, the fact is that schizophrenia is not always linked to paranoid delusions and may not increase someone's dangerousness. Therefore, each individual's mental health should be thoroughly assessed before proposing an involuntary commitment.