Neuro-Developmental Disorders in the Criminal Justice System

Warning:  TRAUMATIC SUBJECT MATTER

Conjecture

Right now we've been "coming to terms" with the HIGH PERCENTAGE of people with serious and persistent mental illness in the Criminal Justice System.

• It's on the EXTREMES and its EASIER TO SEE --- HOLMES, GLEN BURTON AKE in Oklahoma many years ago are EASIER TO SEE.

"Glen Burton Ake was arrested and charged with murdering a couple and wounding their two children in 1979. At his arraignment, his bizarre behavior prompted the judge to order a psychiatric competency evaluation."

Ake v. Oklahoma - Wikipedia

[I was a Sophomore in High School in Oklahoma in 1979 --- It was one of the most heinous crimes I think most people could imagine being committed.

It was at least one of the reasons why my father who was so forward thinking in so many areas --- was not for getting rid of the DEATH PENALTY.

As a young Assistant District Attorney, I remember seeing Glen Burton Ake on REMAND --- apparently shot up with THORAZINE, his head and long stringy hair hanging down as the JUDGE said there would be a special place in HELL for him. 

Was it AKE or one of the many others --- I forget.

I remember thinking at the time(s) the JUDGE(S) was/were wasting his/her/their time.

BUT I as a young assistant DA --- nobody cared what I thought -- I wasn't trying death penalty cases --- and at time time I didn't really see the DEATH PENALTY as the BIG ISSUE in Criminal Justice.

The Death Penalty was a BIGGER KEY to CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM than I realized at the time because it was going to FOUNDATIONAL VALUES.

Importantly, heinous crimes that shock the conscience aren't just those resulting in death --- the Kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart certainly qualified.   The Mental Health Problems of the Kidnappers of Elizabeth Smart --- were on the EXTREMES and EASIER TO SEE.

I remember hearing of a man in California who had sexually assaulted and cut off the arms of a young girl ---- and thinking I could kill him quite easily myself.

In the last few years, WESTWORD pointed out that NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY isn't just for that axe murderer anymore --- which I think we all should take a moment to be GRATEFUL for.

Later, I would work for THE LEGAL CENTER FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES & OLDER PEOPLE ---- I think we both thought the other was quite NAIVE --- often in IRONIC WAYS. 

BUT THE TRUTH IS WHILE A SIGNIFICANT PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM HAVE SEVERE & PERSISTENT MENTAL ILLNESS ---

• NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL DIFFERENCES such as ADHD, AUTISM and/or DYSLEXIA are ENDEMIC to the CRIMINAL JUSTICE POPULATION.
• Those "SUBSTANCE ISSUES" are often an attempt to "MANAGE" a DYSREGULATED BIOLOGY that can absolutely be made worse by BAD SOCIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
  • EPIGENETICS
    

Poor Males and Males of Color with Neuro-Developmental Disorders are much more likely to find themselvs in the CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.

We have I think let the BATTLE of the SEXES get OUT OF CONTROL and generally FAIL to RECOGNIZE CAUSES beyond the first link in the chain of causality.

• To me this is similar to Henry the VIII blaming his wives for the problems he had in acquiring a male heir.
• MALE BAD BEHAVIOR can be a BIG PROBLEM--- probably some of it --- is related in part to MATERNAL IMMUNE ACTIVATION during pregnancy which is associated with both NEURO-DEVELOPMENTAL & PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS.
  • That MATERNAL IMMUNE ACTIVATION is quite COMPLICATED and part of it could be in some cases attributed to a BAD SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT --- in other cases --- other factors might be more influentIal.
  • Further, there are complicated GENERATIONAL & HISTORIC ISSUES.
    

Scientific Reality, A Kinder Gentler Nation --- & Making Our Piece with the State of Nature

Allan David Bloom (September 14, 1930 – October 7, 1992) was an American philosopher, classicist, and academician. --- Wikipedia