Race and Mental Illness in the United States

Abstract

Abstract This research is about putting it on record that the application of who gets outfitted with a mental illness and who does not may has some essence of bias that makes race and mental illness an unusual complement. The thesis is that given the historic racism and degradation of Blacks in the United States, a mental illness diagnosis is applied to Blacks in regards to criminal offenses, whether it is a clinician’s doing or a legal decision maker’s. There is some disparity in whether a Black defendant is given a psychiatric moniker as a reason for his crime, as opposed to his rationality leading him to do it. It is important that all are treated equally under the law if the United States ever hopes to live up to the equality dictum of the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The thesis is verified by comparative approach of studies done using interviews and medical records of offenders that cite a psychiatric evaluation. The point of the research is to ascertain whether there is a link between race and mental illness diagnosis in regards to the criminal justice system. Whether one is pro or con for criminal justice reform, activism towards how Blacks are treated by both law enforcement and clinicians is necessary in order to right any wrongs that might be based on the degree of one’s melanin.