Many of the mentally ill are initially arrested on minor infractions such as Bryan Sanderson, who was arrested for riding a hotel elevator naked after voices told him to leave his room immediately. Instead of accessing treatment through the mental health care system, often, those who are mentally ill face extended prison time for the behavior associated with their illness. These statistics are startling, and Roth describes the personal stories of individuals with mental illness, making the real-life implications of this hit home. Some are there because of a crime committed while others are there because of a severe shortage of beds available in mental health care facilities. Roth estimates that as many as 50% of all people in the criminal justice system suffer from some type of mental illness.
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