Discharge of Mentally Disordered Offenders

Abstract

In this chapter we want to describe the position of the mentally abnormal offender, one of the key casualties of the decarceration movement. Mentally abnormal offenders provide another piece to the jigsaw and their position is increasingly precarious. Offenders, once able to find sanctuary in the mental hospitals, are now ending up in the penal system. In this chapter we wish to show how the mentally abnormal offender fares under decarceration and the problems associated with transferring such offenders out of the penal system into the mental health services.