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Allen Frances, MD, tells us in an article entitled: Fixing the Mental Health System: Snake Pits, Dungeons, and Back Alleys | Psychiatric Times, "I have been in both places and can assure you that the fate of psychiatric patients in prison dungeons is much worse than was their plight in snake pit hospitals."

Dr. Frances seeks comments about how the broken mental health system in the USA might be fixed. My first thought is that our representatives put politics aside and make changes beneficial to those who so desperately need proper treatment.

I think an attitudinal shift followed Hinckley's attempt to assassinate Reagan; Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity. The country took a hard-line stance against mental illness, and the vast majority of insanity defenses have not been successful since. And I'm not just referring to violent crime. This has resulted in a huge increase in non-violent people with mental illness behind bars.

This is not going to be an easy fix; we'll need to address this issue on many levels. I remember Rivera's infiltration of Creedmore in 1972: Creedmore Psychiatric Hospital was chaining people with mental illness to steel railings. They had to urinate and defecate in the hallway. They had to sleep on cement. People with mental illness were treated like garbage. After Rivera videotaped these conditions and put it on local (NYC) television, the public attitude shifted towards more compassion for people with mental illness.

I think we need to shine a light on non-violent people with mental illness who are in prison. We need to persuade the public that it is not only a waste of taxpayer's money to keep incarcerating these people, but it is a violation of human rights.