Chapter Overview

In her book Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, the trailblazing civil rights leader Judith Heumann reflects on her life, education, and career. Heumann, who died in 2022 after a lifetime of fighting for the rights of people with disabilities, had quadriplegia as a result of polio she contracted as a toddler. At every juncture in her life, Heumann faced exclusion due to her disability. Heumann shares how she experienced these social, educational, and professional barriers as painful challenges to her sense of belonging: “I was confused and heart-wrenchingly sad to the point of numbness. I just couldn’t understand what I had to do to be seen as an ordinary person” (Heumann & Joiner, 2021, p. 41).

In this chapter, we consider how people with mental illnesses and disabilities (together, mental disorders) have been marginalized and dehumanized over time, leading up to the present day. People have long been excluded from basic opportunities due to mental disorders—just as Judith Heumann was excluded due to her physical disability. Opportunities denied to people with mental disorders include receiving an education, accessing or getting paid for employment, participating in government, and even living freely in the community. For example, routine confinement in poorly-equipped institutions was the well-accepted lot of people with mental disorders in American society throughout much of the country’s history. Discrimination and prejudice against people with mental disorders remain pervasive and do not stop at the doors of the legal system. In fact, these problems are heightened for people who, in addition to their mental disorders, are also involved in the criminal justice system. This group of people is the focus of this text.

A theme throughout this text, and a purpose for which it was written, is to highlight and combat the persistent exclusion and mistreatment of people with disabilities generally, and mental disorders in particular, especially as they come into contact with the criminal justice system. The risk of people with mental disorders experiencing harm is exacerbated (inside and outside of the justice system) when impacted people fall into the intersection of multiply-marginalized groups due to factors such as race, gender identity, or poverty in addition to disability. The existence and impact of these intersections is often noted in this text. As you observe the history shared in this chapter, you will learn about the progress we have made in our treatment of people with mental disorders. You will also see how much work remains to be done as we move forward to a criminal justice system that better serves our focus population and our community as a whole.

Licenses and Attributions for Chapter Learning Objectives and Overview

“Chapter Overview” by Anne Nichol is licensed under CC BY 4.0.