Persons with Intellectual Disability in Prison
Outcomes of Self-Determination in New Hampshire
Scott Spreat
Spreat, S. (2020). Persons with Intellectual Disability in Prison. Journal of Intellectual Disability and
Offending Behaviour, 11(4), 233-237
The closure of mental hospitals over the past 60 years has seen the census of these
programs decline from about 560,000 in 1955 to about 40,000 in 2014 (Lutterman &
Manderscheid, 2017). Mental health deinstitutionalization was not accompanied by
investments necessary to ensure the successful community integration of individuals with
mental health disorders. Many people discharged from state hospitals without sufficient
supports ended up homeless and sleeping on the streets. This brought them into contact with
the justice system, and introduced the justice system to its new role as asylum (Goffman, 1956)
for individuals with mental health challenges. The justice system now houses 3-4 times as
many people with mental health conditions than do the remaining state mental hospitals
(Lutterman & Manderscheid , 2017). It is estimated that one in five current prisoners has some
form of mental illness.