Schizophrenia and the Law
by Lydia
Schizophrenia is a brain disease that affects over two million Americans each year.
People diagnosed with schizophrenia usually usually act very out of character. They will often begin to do and say very strange things. Most often, the changes can be seen in the things that they do habitually.
As a result of their behaviors changing drastically, they can do things they would never normally do. This disease distorts the way that they look at reality and the way that they react to different situations.
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Symptoms of schizophrenia can include paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions. These often mean thinking that someone is following them or watching them when in reality none of that is happening.
Schizophrenia can lead “to a lower quality of life and often times results in homelessness, crime, and violence.” (Source: neulaw.org) This constant state of fear can cause them to act out which can, depending on the case, cause them to be incarcerated.
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So this brings up the question, what happens next? If charged, should they still be charged the same amount as someone that is mentally stable? Or should they be assigned help to become mentally stable? These are very highly debated questions because both sides of the argument have important points.
Schizophrenia in itself is not easy to diagnose, this is because it affects each person differently. There are many different subtypes to schizophrenia: catatonic, undifferentiated, paranoid, residual, and disorganized. (Source: schizlife.com) These subtypes describe the symptoms that the person is experiencing. Depending on these symptoms then categorizes them into each subtype.
Another question that has to be looked at is, how do you know if someone is has actually been diagnosed with schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia isn’t a disorder that has physical effects that you can see and because the cause of schizophrenia still isn’t completely known how do you truly know if someone has schizophrenia? This is another hard question to answer because of the diversity in symptoms and diagnoses.
The severity of the disorder also varies from patient to patient. Often times in order to determine if someone has schizophrenia, judges will look in the patient’s medical history and will gather information from witnesses.
If this is not able to be acquired the jury will look at the symptoms from the crime and compare them to known symptoms with schizophrenia. This truly is a case-by-case type of thing.
There are many laws in USA that have been implemented in order to help with fair treatment of people with mental disorders. These include:
- Americans With Disabilities Act – this law mainly protects those that are disabled from discrimination
- Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act – this allows the government to investigate institutions and make sure that they are operating fairly
- Fair Housing Act – this makes it illegal for a person with a disability to be denied housing due to their disability.
- The Rehabilitation Act – the main purpose is to help those with a disability to be dependent and find employment
These laws are put in place in order to ensure the rights of people with disabilities.
Proper treatment of schizophrenia is very important. If you or a loved one are experiencing symptoms that can be described as schizophrenic it is important to schedule an appointment with your doctor in order to get the proper treatment.
It is not uncommon for people with untreated schizophrenia to become homeless or end up in jail. Studies show that one third of the homeless population in America are schizophrenic (Source: schizophrenia.com). Medications and therapy can help with coping with the severe symptoms that come along with schizophrenia.
Although this post largely applies to those living in the USA, there may be similar laws that apply in the country you live. This post gives you an idea of what you can look for in your country. Please share this post with your social media contacts to create awareness of schizophrenia and the rights of a person with the law.
Lydia is a writer and blogger based out of Lancaster County, PA. She primarily writes informational articles regarding an array of topics. Currently she is writing articles regarding schizophrenia and living a life full with schizophrenia. You can read some of her articles at schizlife.com.
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect all or some of our beliefs and policy. Any links on this page does not necessarily mean they have been endorsed by Defying Mental Illness.
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