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Aurora Agee
English 4 Honors
Mrs. DeBock
March 17, 2016
Essential Question: How do mental illnesses affect people's actions towards others and their
criminal tendencies?
Working thesis: Mental illnesses have a negating effect on people and their actions.
Refined thesis: When a person has a mental illness he or she are negatively affected and may not
be in control of their actions towards others or what they do.
Annotated Bibliography
Breggin, Peter. "Violent People Should Be Treated as Criminals Rather Than as Patients."
Mental

Illness and Criminal Behavior. Ed. Shannon Fiack. Detroit: Greenhaven Press,

2009. At
The Huffington

Issue. Rpt. from "The Real 'Mental Health Lesson' from Virginia Tech."
Post. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

This article focuses on the idea that violent people criminals and not as patients. In the
case of Seung-Hui Cho who is a murderer but is also severely mentally ill. Who was treated as a
mental patient rather than a criminal. The article says that the most appropriate actions to take on
potentially dangerous mentally ill patients is police enforcement. In the Article it also discusses
the negative effects that drugs have on mental health patients. Some of these drugs cause violent
or suicidal tendencies especially in patients with severe depression. This

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article is relevant to this research because it shows how authoritarian involvement in mental
patients could possibly help to prevent violence of mentally ill people.
Davoli, Joanmarie Ilaria. "Psychiatric Hospitals Are Not Equivalent to Prisons." Mental Illness
and Criminal Behavior. Ed. Shannon Fiack. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. At
Issue.

Rpt. from "Reconsidering the Consequences of an Insanity Acquittal." New

England
Opposing

Journal on Criminal and Civil Confinement 31.1 (Winter 2005): 3-14.

Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

This article shows that there is a major difference between a mentally insane criminal in a
psychiatric hospital and a mentally ill criminal. There is a way to differentiate between those
who are mentally insane and just a person with a mental illness. Those who have been tried as
mentally insane are often proven to be faking it. However, very few who have been tried as
mentally insane have been proven. This article is related to this research because it shows the
differences between mentally insane and mentally ill and how both should be treated.

"Introduction to Mental Illness and Criminal Behavior: At Issue." Mental Illness and Criminal
Behavior. Ed. Shannon Fiack. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. At Issue.
Opposing

Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

This article informs you of the basics of mental illnesses related to criminal behavior. The
idea of a person being no guilty do to mental insanity was developed by a court case in 1843. Yet
after the law was created many debate how the law treats those with mental illnesses. The article
discusses that criminals with mental illnesses need different punishment or
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care. Due to their need for medications or psychiatric care. The article is relevant to this research
because it gives basic information on mentally insane criminals and their due process.

Mental Health America. "The Plea of Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity Should Remain Valid."
Mental Illness and Criminal Behavior. Ed. Shannon Fiack. Detroit: Greenhaven
Press,

2009. At Issue. Rpt. from "Position Statement 57: In Support of the Insanity

Defense."

2004. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Mar. 2016.

This article discusses that people who are mentally unstable are not responsible for their
actions. Therefor in the court of law they can be accused as non guilty. This is because of section
4.02 which has proven those who are severely mentally ill not guilty. However there is some
controversy over this section. Some cases when a person has been Guilty but insane in which
they are proven guilty however they are mentally ill and did not know what they were doing.
THis article is relevant to this research because it shows that those who are mentally ill are not
personally responsible for their actions.

"Mental Illness Is Prevalent in America." Mental Illness. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit:
Greenhaven Press, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context.
Web.

17 Mar. 2016.
This article discusses the rise in mental illness and its prevalence in America. In the

article cops were taken and trained to determine if a person was mentally ill by evaluating their
actions. This was a 40 hour class to help to train a police officer to decipher symptoms of
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various mental illnesses as well as the common symptoms of all mental illnesses. In the article
are the costs of the family with a member who happens to be mentally ill. Often times the family
have to take out social security disability just to pay bills. This article is relevant to this research

because it shows things that can be done to prevent mentally ill people from being accused and
tried as a normal person would be.

"Preface to 'How Should Society Address Mental Illness?'." Mental Illness. Ed. Mary E.
Williams. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing
Viewpoints

in Context. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

This article has research of the percentages of the mentally ill in america. 16% of
america's mentally ill are incarcerated. Those who are incarcerated and are mentally ill. In New
York City nearly 3,000 mentally ill people are behind bars. Those who are mentally ill and in jail
rarely ever find the right kind of treatment for their specific disease or for any at all. A good
number of mentally ill never receive the proper treatment. They are either homeless and can not
afford to get medication or they are not aware of their illness. This article is relevant to my
research because it shows the relationship between the mentally ill incarcerated and those who
do not receive a mental diagnosis.