![]() It does not routinely identify them as mentally retarded at any phase of the process. The system fails these individuals, and thus the public, usually because it ignores them. Incarceration than does the average person convicted of Typical mentally retarded offender costs the public more for Thrown at them by the criminal justice system in a way that Not afforded an opportunity to respond to the challenges The net result is that persons with mental retardation are Problems meeting their parole requirements and find it moreĭifficult than the average inmate to get a job. Once released, mentally retarded persons often have Them less likely to be granted parole as early as the average That, together with a poor record of program participationĪnd an inability to impress parole boards on interview, makes They tend to rely on physical responses to physical threatsĪnd are thus often reclassified to higher security levels. Prison population, where they are often abused or victimized. Mental retardation are typically housed with the general Incarceration, Parole, and Recidivism.The mentally retarded serve jail or prison sentences at Intelligence and greater educational and work achievement, so Probation is commonly granted to persons with higher Trial, their testimony may be viewed as less credible becauseĪggressive prosecutors can make them appear unreliable. ![]() They are less successful at plea bargaining. Incriminating evidence to prosecutors than other defendants, Persons with mental retardation tend to provide more Plea Bargaining, Court Processing, and Sentencing.Mentally retarded persons often lack both. Bail is typically available onlyįor those with jobs or with stable living situations Rights (without understanding what they are doing). Protection against this, as they often waive their Miranda Inįact, in trying hard to please authority figures, they mayĬonfess to what they have not done. Often make no attempt to disguise what they have done. Mental retardation are disproportionately represented at each The preceding characteristics help explain why persons with (The mentally retarded are not typically mentally ill mental illness can strike persons at any level of intellectual functioning.) Inequity at Every Step They are usually followers and are easily manipulated. Mentally retarded persons have little long-term perspective and little ability to understand the consequences of their actions. Persons with mental retardation are usually defined as those with an IQ below 70, but practically speaking, such persons can be described with fair accuracy as having a childlike quality of thinking, coupled with slowness in learning new material. This brief summarizes the basis for her conclusions. Petersilia is a researcher in RAND's Criminal Justice Program and Professor of Criminology at the University of California, Irvine. ![]() Those are the conclusions reached by Joan Petersilia in a recent review of the evidence bearing on this issue. In most states, that system makes little or no allowance for the disabilities of such offenders, resulting in dispositions that are inequitably harsh and in all likelihood costlier to the public than need be the case. Persons with mental retardation are a small but increasing portion of the population under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system. ![]()
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