Also aren't state forced mental institution generally considered worse then prison? You loose all your freedom like in prison, but you also are surrounded by people who's mental health is so bad the legal system had to get involved. The stories I've read made these institutions sound like a nightmare
Not really worse in that sense. You're surrounded by violent assholes in prison, many who will never see freedom again and thus are not influenced by punishment anymore.
The big issue with psych ward is that you have no concept of how long your stay will be. They are instructed to keep you until you're no longer a danger. That could never happen. And there's no parole system either. So a short prison stay could be life in psych. But if you're looking at life anyway, the differences aren't as major.
I very much disagree with this. Yes in prisons you’re surrounded by violent assholes. However you’re also surrounded by people who are not violent assholes as well. As bad as it may be a lot do people do establish connections with other people in prisons that help them have a better life once they get out. You also get opportunities to get your GED and career certifications which some do and end up getting jobs outside.
None of this exists in those state psych wards. You spend everyday surrounded by people that are severely mentally ill and none of those career options exists. A lot of those state psych wards have way worse conditions than most prisons to the point that some don’t even have beds because they’re severely underfunded. Almost all cases you spend a much longer time in there than prison.
It's often worse. Prisoners are allowed yard time, and cigarettes. In a psych ward looney bin, nicotine is restricted and there isn't an "allowance" of outside time.
It's extremely country/state dependent, and her situation is pretty severe... But I worked in a facility in Ontario, Canada for people that were found NCR (not criminally responsible). It was for low/medium risk individuals. And let me tell you some people were stuck in there for decades. It is not the "easy way out". It was a pretty high bar to enter, and then once you're in you have very little control over how you move through the system. Any hiccup makes you go back a step. Every step takes forever. Some people hated choosing that option. Like.. maybe it's not literally prison, but you're locked up with no autonomy with no timeline on when you're getting released.
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u/Kendertas Aug 26 '26
Also aren't state forced mental institution generally considered worse then prison? You loose all your freedom like in prison, but you also are surrounded by people who's mental health is so bad the legal system had to get involved. The stories I've read made these institutions sound like a nightmare