Chapter Overview

Sedlis Dowdy, a tall, soft-spoken Black man with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, grew up poor and often hungry in Harlem. Dowdy’s mother had nine other children, and she also experienced mental illness. Despite these barriers, Dowdy obtained his GED and made it to college. He did well during his first few terms until mental illness overwhelmed him. Although violence is not common among people who are mentally ill (only 4% of violent crime is attributable to people with mental illness), Dowdy was the exception (The Council of State Governments, 2021). In 1996, Dowdy experienced auditory hallucinations and shot a stranger in a New York park (Rodriguez, 2015).

We have learned about the importance of diverting people with mental disorders away from the criminal justice system. This aligns with our understanding that people with mental disorders are at risk of being improperly criminalized due to their mental disorders and that jail and prison can harm people with mental disorders. Diversion instead of prosecution, however, is more appropriate for people who have committed lower-level offenses, such as those connected to being unhoused or using substances.

We have also learned that the criminal justice system has mechanisms to remove more serious offenders from the criminal justice system when conviction is not appropriate due to a mental disorder. These mechanisms, including the insanity defense, are difficult to use and often unappealing. For example, Sedlis Dowdy might have pursued the insanity defense, but he says he chose not to because he feared the open-ended—possibly lifetime—hospital stay that can result from a criminal commitment (Rodriguez, 2015). We will discuss criminal commitments in more detail in Chapter 9 of this text.

Ultimately, Dowdy was prosecuted and convicted, and he received a 5- to 10-year prison sentence. For much of his time in prison, Dowdy was not on an effective medication regimen, and he was heavily impacted by his mental illness. Dowdy’s behavior was uncooperative and violent. To control and discipline him, prison officials repeatedly placed him in solitary confinement, where he spent about 9 of his prison years. In solitary, Dowdy suffered many indignities, including being fed prison “loaf”—a baked brick of mashed food that is reportedly disgusting and used as punishment (figure 7.1) (Rodriguez, 2015; Barclay, 2014). During his time inside, Dowdy, in anger, threw feces at guards—an offense for which he was prosecuted, adding four years to his sentence (Rodriguez, 2015).

As we have learned, America’s jails and prisons are full of people with mental disorders. Sedlis Dowdy is one of those people. This chapter focuses on the laws and practices, in both state and federal custodial environments, that govern and impact the experience of people like Dowdy. The criminal justice system bears obligations towards the vulnerable people who depend upon it for care while they are in custody. As you read and watch the linked videos in this chapter, consider how our system is meeting those obligations and how we might better serve people who are incarcerated.

Licenses and Attributions for Chapter Learning Objectives and Overview

Open Content, Original

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

Open Content, Shared Previously

Figure 7.1. Veggie Loaf by Scott Veg is licensed under CC By 2.0.