Writing Assignment #3

Sarah Fitzpatrick
Eng1050 – 20
Writing Journal Assignment #3

This is a difficult issue to discuss, as it seems to interfere with the natural rights of men and women in the United States. I would like to say that patients should have the right to refuse treatment, as it alters something going on in their own body; but another point people have to consider is the safety of the community. The studies have clearly shown that mental illness is positively correlated with homicides. I do believe that it would put the community in a safer place if the people released from mental hospitals were required to take medicine. If someone was recovering from a severe physical injury or illness, they would be told to take medicine until they recovered, or to continue to take medicine to keep them strong. Although we are talking about mental illnesses, not physical ones, the studies prove that the medicine improves these peoples’ lives and should be mandatory for the good of themselves and the people around them. At one point, the author pointed out the high percentage of people in state, federal and local inmates who suffer from mental illnesses. A question that arose for me, however, is this: Was this based on their mental state when they arrived at the prison or is it possible that some of these people could have acquired mental illnesses from being locked up in a prison?