Mental illness in America's prisons




Correctional officers struggle with an inmate to secure him in the chair in order to give him a shower. After 11 months of refusal, the doctors ordered a forced shower and a cleaning of his room.

An inmate yells at the correctional officers through the window of his cell. "I am going to get you like I got you the first time," he yells. The officers get assaulted often, sometimes six to seven times a day.


 A correctional officer pats down the inmates as they reenter CPTU after their hour of recreation at the gym.

 Correctional officers hold down an inmate to secure him in cuffs in order to give him a shower. "When an inmate is in a psychotic episode or being disruptive, their strength is amazing," says Sargeant Rioux. Often it takes three to four officers to get his hands restrained.

 Multiple officers wait by the door before a cell entry. "We use multiple officers to decrease the chances of anyone getting hurt including the inmate," says Sergeant Rioux.

 "We have to remind mental health staff of the policies to protect everyone," says Sergeant Rioux. "If the doctors say he doesn't need to be cuffed, we remind them that he does and that security comes first."

 An inmate is cuffed and returned to his cell after acting out earlier that day. A spit mask is used to prevent him from spitting at the doctors and correctional officers. "Our priority is security. That mandates that we have certain security measures that cant be breached. But security can't be a stranglehold on progress," says Larry Chandler, warden of Kentucky State Reformatory.

 An inmate is strapped down in the restraining chair to be given medication.

 The security camera watches inside the cell of an inmate who has has suicidal thoughts.

 During meal times, the tray slots are left open giving the men in lockdown freedom to speak to each other. Seeking any interaction, many of the men sit on the floor in front of their slot if to only see an officer walk by.

 An inmate is helped back into his cell during a psychotic episode. Correctional officers are not only responsible for securing inmates but now help treatment staff and other mental health professionals identify and manage mentally ill inmates, says Sergeant Jeremy Rioux, correctional officer and first shift supervisor.

 A nurse hands pills to an inmate during the evening pill call.

 David Page, an inmate in A wing, is asked to show his tongue to the correctional officer to prove that he took his pills.

 An inmate listens to Dr. Roby speaks to an inmate locked down on 23 hour watch through the door of his cell.

 Inmates often have to be restrained by officers before medication can be administered. In order to meet the criteria for forced medication, the inmate must be found to be a danger to himself or others.

 A correctional officer asks to check an inmate's tongue after he is given his afternoon pills. "We have some people in C wing that refuse meds and thats their right," says Dr. Tanya Young, psychologist and program director of CPTU.

 Inmates from A wing wait their pills during the afternoon pill call. They come to the pill window three times a day to receive their pills.

 An officer holds the hand of an inmate while he cries.

 Dr. Roby speaks to an inmate locked down on 23 hour watch through the door of his cell. "I had to get used to speaking to them through their doors," Dr. Roby says. "But I don't work in a community health center, I work in a prison and the rules are different," she adds.







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