Balanced Justice and Support for Mental Health Courts

• In Event: Control, Punishment and Rehabilitation: Investigating Balanced Justice and Anti-Doping Regulations

Abstract

Estimates suggest that nearly 1.3 million individuals incarcerated in the United States suffer from some form of mental illness (James & Glaze, 2006). Specifically, 45% of federal inmates, 56% of state inmates, and 64% of jail inmates experience symptoms related to mental illness. Mental health courts have been established as a way to alleviate the burden of solely relying on incarceration to handle individuals with mental illness. Although the literature suggests mental health courts are effective (Henrickx et al., 2005) little is understood about the role of balanced justice—that is, supporting both a rehabilitation and punishment approach for sanctioning individuals—who suffer from mental illness. This study uses multinomial logistic regression, on a sample of 575 college students enrolled in criminology and criminal justices classes at a southern university, to assess support for balanced justice amongst individuals with mental illness. Policy implications are discussed.

Authors

• Lincoln Sloas, Florida Atlantic University

• Cassandra Atkin-Plunk, Florida Atlantic University