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Mental health is essential incorporation and consideration when it comes to the criminal justice system. Indiscriminately, crime is committed by sane and insane persons. It results in the justice system incorporating ways to deal with scenarios where insane persons are convicted. It is crystal clear that an insane person can't be put through the same legal prosecution system as a sane one. However, this doesn't take off the conviction of detained criminals, regardless of their mental health status (Franke, 2019). The main function of the criminal justice system is to separate people who are a threat to public safety, prosecute and offer rightful convictions as stated by the law.

However, the criminal justice system has failed in the prosecution process of convicted criminals with unsound minds. It has been attributed by several factors along with the health system of convicts with mental ailment. To understand in parts, the course can be categorized into two; criminals arrested while still in their unsound minds state and convicts who develop a mental illness while still serving their jail terms. As a result, the holes in the health system from prosecution to jails has called for researches and intervention of interested parties and government.

When a criminal is arrested and brought before the law to undergo prosecution, mental health is always the first check; it is to ensure that the convict is at the right state of mind when facing conviction. A convict with a sound mind can understand the court orders, processes and requirements. For example, he or she can decide whether to hire a lawyer if necessary. Remember, court execution will also depend on evidence provided by the plaintiff and defence provided by the defendant. An insane convict won't be in a position to offer a reasonable defence. Research states there are many prisoners serving jail terms that they aren't worth for; they are innocent yet convicted as guilty (Samele, 2016). Many will doubt and wonder how. When criminals awaiting prosecution fails to undergo the proper mental health check, plaintiffs often win against their unstable mind making such scenarios possible.

It is therefore significant and vital to carry out a proper mental health check to criminals awaiting from prosecution. To facilitate that, the criminal justice system, with the help of government and health system, should deploy highly trained medical personnel, including psychiatrists and psychologists. It will have a positive impact on reducing the number of innocents who end up being jailed. Some convicts are just accused and become before prosecution; they end up losing to the plaintiffs become confined. Ensuring proper checks will also prevent the crowding of mental patients in jails has been cutting off effective delivery of services to sane and 'normal' prisoners. Research states that prisons have been found to carry many mental patients than mental health facilities. It has posed a critical problem to the criminal justice system.

For imprisoned mentally incapacitated inmates, they have to comply with medication in correspondence to their various ailment. Some are to receive daily dosage to maintain their mental health in the required state. However, it's been proven a challenge by multiple pieces of research conducted by interested institutions and individuals. Inmates have been found to intentionally miss their dosage or even climb over the whole medication system. It has been caused by a few factors that can be amended. First, where inmates are responsible for paying for their medication, they tend to evade it and save the money to meet other basics and pressing amenities. Last and not least, medical personnel employed in various prisons also find it hard to forcibly administer medicine on mentally incapacitated inmates, no law states that they should be forcibly forced to take their medication. This poses a significant threat to the medical experts and other inmates when the mentally incapacitated inmates rise above the normal state and turn violate.

Besides, prisons have contributed to inmates’ acquisition of mental health disorders. Noise, shortage of basic amenities, crowding, immorality, war among prisoners and severe punishment have led to inmates suffer from various mental illnesses including, depression, panic, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, phobia among others. It has worsened the already existing mental health challenges. Research states that mentally incapacitated inmates are more likely to endure physical injuries compared to their regular counterparts. The condition has resulted in injuries, traumatization and death of inmates.

To effectively deal with that, the criminal justice system ought to employ ore trained correctional officers to minimize the state of anarchism that have been prevalent in the past years. It should also take extreme action to guards who are found to join hands with inmates illegal and anti-social practices in prisons. In the past years, not to deny currently, correctional officers have helped inmates injure and even kill their fellow inmates for revenge and superiority. They have also facilitated drug abuse and anti-social behaviours such as homosexuality which unacceptable in various countries. The inmates receive such favours by ensuring regular 'pay' to their prison guards. Not to forget, drug abuse has contributed to mental health impairments such as hallucination and dilution (Zielinski, 2020). On the other hand, inmates who forcibly get 'married' by their dominant homosexual partners are found to suffer from panic and depression.

To curb that, the criminal justice system should execute immoral guards without fear or favour. Prisons are reform centres and should ensure that social ethics and virtues are highly practised and maintained to give back society reformed individuals when their terms are over.

Mental health doesn't have to stop when a prisoner is released following completion of the confinement period. This is totally where the criminal justice system goes wrong about. Existing research evidence states that it very possible for released prisoners to be put behind bars again just a few weeks after their release. They are more likely to suffer mentally. Upon their release, many prisoners don't know where to go, where to start and how to survive. They come out only to find a more abrasive atmosphere than that of the prison. Many of released prisoners are never accepted back in the society, not even by their own families. It turns them to depression images, sufferers, and for survival reason, to sustain their lives, they find themselves forcibly taking away other peoples’ property. It doesn’t matter to them whether they will have to kill or injure. Any human being will do anything to survive. So, they are not to be wholly blamed.

There are many ways that the criminal justice system can make things right. It has to give back the society reformed people free from social violence. The critical part is mental preparation before releasing the prisoners. Prisoners with mental health issues will have to undergo further processes to stabilize their state. For example, it's wise to them through mental hospitals before handing them to their families. Their families should also be informed before their release (Hoffman, 2016). For other inmates who have records of mental instabilities during their imprisonment period, it is necessary to put them through rehabilitation centres for counselling. Those who have histories of drug abuse should receive substance abuse education and vocational evaluation if possible. They should also attend narcotic meetings before being released.

For other prisoners who the criminal justice system still have to be concerned about their mental health after their release, it should come up with ideas to facilitate their transformation and preparation to give them back to the society. For example, the criminal justice system of any given country should come up with ways of providing finances to the 'life beginners'. This will hinder them from committing a crime to sustain their lives. It is well known that prisons offer training to prisoners in different fields. It is why the same system should conduct employment preparation for prisoners being released. This will help reduce bankruptcy-related depression which could turn to worse.

Criminal justice has been an effective arm with an essential role in maintaining peace and order. Addressing the above-listed upheavals would improve its effectiveness and general performance for the better!

References

Franke, I., Vogel, T., Eher, R., & Dudeck, M. (2019). Prison mental healthcare: recent developments and future challenges. Current opinion in psychiatry, 32(4), 342-347.

Hoffman, S. J., Sritharan, L., & Tejpar, A. (2016). Is the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities impacting mental health laws and policies in high-income countries? A case study of implementation in Canada. BMC international health and human rights, 16(1), 28.

Samele, C., Forrester, A., Urquía, N., & Hopkin, G. (2016). Critical successes and challenges in providing mental health care in an urban male remand prison: a qualitative study. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 51(4), 589-596.

Zielinski, M. J., Allison, M. K., Brinkley-Rubinstein, L., Curran, G., Zaller, N. D., & Kirchner, J. A. E. (2020). Making change happen in criminal justice settings: leveraging implementation science to improve mental health care. Health & Justice, 8(1), 1-10.