This piece from NPR illustrates the intersection of racism, criminal justice, and mental illness that leads to medical incarceration.
“Black inmates who need mental health care spend more time in segregation and far less time with counselors than their white counterparts in Illinois prisons, according to a new complaint filed in federal court seeking better care for 12,000 mentally ill detainees.
About 69% of those held in restrictive housing were Black, according to statistics for June 2022 cited in a lawsuit filed Sept. 30 in U.S. District Court for the Central District. Black prisoners made up about 54% of the inmate population at the time. Whites comprised 32% of the overall population and 16% of those held in segregation, said the lawsuit.”
