In Iowa about a third of people in prison have a serious mental illness; another quarter have a chronic mental health diagnosis. That there are so many people with mental illness locked in our jails and prisons is but one piece of the crisis. Mental illness affects every aspect of the criminal justice system, from policing to the courts to prisons and beyond. The Post estimated that mental illness was a factor in a quarter of fatal police shootings in 2017, too. People with mental illness are less likely to make bail and more likely to face longer sentences.

Source: The Guardian March 31, 2018 09:56 UTC