Should The Mentally Disabled be Punished?

Following the episode of “Be Right Back” came “White Bear,” in this episode a woman is being “tortured” for her crimes.  She is constantly placed into a situation that is similar to that of the girl’s she and her fiance tortured and kill.

The  episode brought upon many questions including those about the mentally ill. Being mentally ill and committing a horrible crime can go two ways: either you knew about your illness, and chose not to take the necessary precautions to make sure they  were in the correct mind, or they knew about their  illness, but their meds were not working at all . For those who chose to not take their medications, then punishment is justified; they cannot use the excuse of being mentally unstable to stay out of prison. Of course, rehabilitation is a choice but what are the chances the culprit will continue to take their medication? The person is now a threat to society.

And for those whose medicines did not work properly, then they may be given a little slack. For they were not in the right mindset, because of the drugs not healing properly. Again rehabilitation is a choice, and they may use it as their time served.  If they, however, become a threat to society,  more time in prison  would better suit them.

Some people may argue that disabled have no excuse  of the crime committed, and while it is true they have to acknowledge that the disabled may or may not be in  their stable minds, which is where the argument rises.  No one can tell if a person is ill just by looking at them, and some people may claim to have an illness they might not have. For example, bipolar disorder which is a disorder that causes extreme mood swings that could become immensely sad or exceedingly angry. Bipolar have been known to murder people out of pure rage in most cases, and they are usually put into a rehab center quickly.  This is a case of not knowing if they were in their right mind or not. They could have known what they were doing and gone manic or they couldn’t have known what they were doing. In this example, one would have to think carefully, put them in rehab on their medication, and make sure they are not a danger to society.

In conclusion, “White Bear” brought upon many questions to ask about the justice system. No one  has reached a conclusion on how a wrong person should be punished, but if a person is unhealthy, should they really be punished?