{"id":25352,"date":"2021-05-09T17:39:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-09T17:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=25352"},"modified":"2021-05-11T10:53:03","modified_gmt":"2021-05-11T10:53:03","slug":"us-prisons-hold-more-than-550000-people-with-intellectual-disabilities-they-face-exploitation-harsh-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/us-prisons-hold-more-than-550000-people-with-intellectual-disabilities-they-face-exploitation-harsh-treatment\/","title":{"rendered":"US prisons hold more than 550,000 people with intellectual disabilities \u2013 they face exploitation, harsh treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/jennifer-sarrett-181531\">Jennifer Sarrett<\/a>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/emory-university-1332\">Emory University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prison life in the U.S. is tough. But when you have an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychiatry.org\/patients-families\/intellectual-disability\/what-is-intellectual-disability\">intellectual, developmental or cognitive disability<\/a> \u2013 as hundreds of thousands of Americans behind bars do \u2013 it can make you especially vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In March, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the federal agency tasked with gathering data on crime and the criminal justice system, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bjs.gov\/content\/pub\/pdf\/drpspi16st.pdf\">published a report<\/a> that found roughly two in five \u2013 38% \u2013 of the 24,848 incarcerated people they surveyed across 364 prisons reported a disability of some sort. Across the entire incarcerated population, that translates to some 760,000 people with disabilities living behind bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Around a quarter of those surveyed reported having a cognitive disability, such as difficulty remembering or making decisions. A similar proportion reported at some point being told they had attention deficit disorder, and 14% were told they had a learning disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-datawrapper wp-block-embed-datawrapper\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"Nearly one in four prisoners has a cognitive disability\u00a0\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/aZQHB\/2\/#?secret=XiQQqKg9Wp\" data-secret=\"XiQQqKg9Wp\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"276\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As a <a href=\"http:\/\/catalog.college.emory.edu\/department-program\/faculty.php?YToxOntzOjI6ImlkIjtzOjM6Ijc5MyI7fQ==\">scholar who has researched disability<\/a> in prison and conducted in-depth interviews with several adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the criminal justice system, I\u2019m all too aware of the problems that incarcerated people with disabilities face. Prisoners with these disabilities are at greater risk of serving <a href=\"https:\/\/www.semanticscholar.org\/paper\/An-Estimate-of-the-Prevalence-of-Autism-Spectrum-in-Fazio-Pietz\/c9423ebfa2f6fbff89b1370b4d7f7b0f26ff831b\">longer<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/0032855597077004002\">harder sentences<\/a> and being exploited and <a href=\"https:\/\/law.asu.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/pdf\/academy_for_justice\/Reforming-Criminal-Justice_Vol_3.pdf\">abused<\/a> by prison staff or other incarcerated people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Stigma and crimes of survival<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The rate of both physical and intellectual disability among the prison population is disproportionately high. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/ncbddd\/disabilityandhealth\/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html\">26% of Americans<\/a> report any kind of disability. Of those, 10.8% reported a cognitive disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is less than half of the proportion of those in prisons. And rates appear to be on the rise \u2013 in 2011-2012, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/ncbddd\/disabilityandhealth\/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html\">32% of people incarcerated in prisons reported a disability<\/a>, with 19% stating a cognitive disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>High as they are, these rates are likely to be an underestimate. They are based on self-reports, and research has shown <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1352\/2009.47:13-23\">many people fail to report a disability<\/a> \u2013 particularly an intellectual or cognitive disability \u2013 to avoid stigma or because they simply don\u2019t know they have one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Bureau of Justice Statistics has also found that people with cognitive, intellectual and developmental <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bjs.gov\/content\/pub\/pdf\/dpji1112.pdf\">disabilities are more prevalent in jails<\/a> \u2013 where people are sent immediately after arrest, to await trial or to serve a sentence of one year or less \u2013 than prisons. Jails tend to be associated with what have been called \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/humantollofjail.vera.org\/legal-perils-of-homelessness\/\">crimes of survival<\/a>,\u201d such as shoplifting and loitering. These offenses are linked to unemployed people and people experiencing homelessness \u2013 communities in which <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/j.1365-2788.2010.01366.x\">rates of disabilities are higher<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prisonpolicy.org\/blog\/2017\/08\/23\/disability\/\">disproportionate amount of people with disabilities<\/a> enter America\u2019s criminal justice system. I see this in my research on intellectual and developmental disabilities \u2013 diagnoses like autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, ADD\/ADHD, Down syndrome, and general cognitive impairment are common in our criminal justice system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>In jail, no one listens<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Between 2018 and 2019, I <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.ssaho.2021.100122\">interviewed 27 people with these disabilities<\/a> about their interaction with the criminal justice system. Eighteen reported having been arrested and\/or incarcerated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many spoke of the harm and difficulties they face throughout the criminal justice system, from courts to being behind bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One man I interviewed who had various learning and attention-related disabilities and was in special education as a child told me: \u201cI was in jail one time [because] when I didn\u2019t understand the questions the judge was asking me, and she sentence me to three months in [county jail] because I didn\u2019t understand.\u201d Officially, this was for disorderly conduct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Confusion in prison and jail can lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themarshallproject.org\/2020\/11\/02\/prison-is-even-worse-when-you-have-a-disability-like-autism\">violence or danger<\/a>. Needing time to process instructions, particularly in high-stress situations, can be interpreted as obstinacy by staff and officers in charge. One middle-aged man who experienced incarceration on a few occasions told me that if you can\u2019t process instructions, sometimes you are physically forced to comply. He provided the example of seeing someone with mental health needs not going to the shower when requested: \u201cIn jail, they don\u2019t have time for that. They\u2019ll just throw you in the shower. They\u2019re not supposed to, but I\u2019ve seen that before.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Further, being seen as obstinate can lead to disciplinary reports in prison or jail, which could result in added time to someone\u2019s sentence or the removal of certain privileges. It could also <a href=\"http:\/\/jaapl.org\/content\/38\/1\/104\">result in solitary confinement<\/a> \u2013 something known to exacerbate and create <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1086\/696041\">mental health concerns<\/a> and which has been labeled as torture by the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2011\/10\/392012-solitary-confinement-should-be-banned-most-cases-un-expert-says\">United Nations<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2012\/06\/18\/us-look-critically-widespread-use-solitary-confinement#\">human rights groups<\/a>. One <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nyaprs.org\/e-news-bulletins\/2018\/11\/30\/study-over-4-000-prisoners-w-serious-mental-illness-are-held-in-solitary-confinement\">study from 2018 found<\/a> that over 4,000 people with serious mental health concerns were being held in solitary confinement in the U.S. Again, this is likely to be an underestimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Incarcerated people with intellectual, developmental and cognitive disabilities <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/14789949.2015.1062994\">risk being exploited<\/a> by both officers and fellow inmates. One person I interviewed who had experienced incarceration said officers look for those who have a disability by noting who only watches TV and never reads, marking them for exploitation. He went on to say that \u201csome of the corrections officers, they be doing things they ain\u2019t got no business doing. So they\u2019ll slide up onto the disability boy and use him, you know, because he\u2019d making him feel like \u2018This is my dog. This is my boy right here. Come and do this for me.\u2019 And they\u2019ll run and do it. So I think people with disabilities are used more by deceptive corrections guards than people that read.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rates of these disabilities are even higher among incarcerated women, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics report. This might be related to the fact that women have much <a href=\"http:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph17051725\">higher histories of abuse and trauma<\/a>, or because they are <a href=\"https:\/\/ramh.org\/guide\/gender-differences-in-mental-health\">more willing to report these disabilities<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One woman with cerebral palsy and unidentified intellectual disabilities I spoke with said that in most jails she\u2019d report her disability, but no one would listen to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2>Hidden behind bars<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The disproportionate rates of cognitive, intellectual and developmental disability in U.S. prisons and jails have rarely formed part of the conversation on reforming our police and prison system. When discussing mental health in prison, often the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org\/evidence-and-research\/learn-more-about\/3695\">focus is on psychiatric disabilities<\/a>, like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. There is good reason for this \u2013 people with these kinds of disabilities are also at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org\/evidence-and-research\/learn-more-about\/3695\">high risk for incarceration<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But, I believe, it has meant that the needs of incarcerated people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have been neglected. At present, there is <a href=\"http:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.psychres.2017.12.036\">little support for people with these disabilities<\/a> in incarcerated settings. Prisons and jails could ensure staff are better trained to interact with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/us\/newsletters\/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&amp;utm_medium=inline-link&amp;utm_campaign=newsletter-text&amp;utm_content=deepknowledge\">Sign up for The Conversation\u2019s newsletter<\/a>.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We could also explore strategies to divert people with intellectual, learning and cognitive disabilities away from the criminal justice system. Cities are increasingly exploring alternatives to police for responding to mental health crises, like the <a href=\"https:\/\/whitebirdclinic.org\/cahoots\/\">CAHOOTS model in Oregon<\/a> in which a medic and mental health expert are deployed as first responders. Additionally, there could be more attention to these disabilities in <a href=\"https:\/\/bja.ojp.gov\/sites\/g\/files\/xyckuh186\/files\/Publications\/CSG_MHC_Research.pdf\">mental health courts<\/a>, which combine court supervision with community-based services. They have been shown to be <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.jcrimjus.2010.11.003\">somewhat effective at reducing recidivism<\/a>, but which <a href=\"http:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10979-010-9250-4\">seem to focus on people<\/a> with schizophrenia, bipolar, major depression or PTSD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But before that, awareness about the presence of disability in incarcerated settings needs to be higher. The plight of incarcerated prisoners with intellectual disabilities has long been an issue lost amid America\u2019s sprawling prison network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/jennifer-sarrett-181531\">Jennifer Sarrett<\/a>, Lecturer, Center for Study of Human Health, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/emory-university-1332\">Emory University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/us-prisons-hold-more-than-550-000-people-with-intellectual-disabilities-they-face-exploitation-harsh-treatment-158407\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jennifer Sarrett, Emory University Prison life in the U.S. is tough. But when you have an intellectual, developmental or cognitive disability \u2013 as hundreds of thousands of Americans behind bars do \u2013 it can make you especially vulnerable. In March, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the federal agency tasked with gathering data on crime and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":25353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,2450],"tags":[5015,2813,9907,9906,9905,2483,2815,5046,5065],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25352"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25352"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25367,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25352\/revisions\/25367"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}