FYE Social Issue Project

POC/Disabled Inequalities

Focus On Prison Systems

And After Effects

Satistics

- According to a 2016 study, 66% of incarcerated people were disabled - People in prisones are three times as likely to have a disability than in the general public

- At least 91% of jails have inmates on suicide watch, yet only 45% offer mental health treatment - Jails and prisons have three times as many people with mental illnesses than state mental hospitals - One in five inmates have a serious mental health condition

"...trivialized by the media, ignored by prison authorities and disqualified by administrative criminologists"

Joanne Martel

Inequality and Discrimination

- Even before entering the prison system, many disabled people are denied necessary services within the court system - Disabled people awaiting trial or transfer in jails are usually denied healthcare, including for mental health - For disabled people, jails are used as holding before they’re transferred to a hospital.

- There are cases of prisons ruling accommodations for disabled people, including wheelchairs and prosthetics, as “unnecessary” in order to cut costs - Disabled inmates, particularly those with mental illnesses, are disproportionately punished with segregation and solitary confinement, which are linked to suicide and self harm

Photo gallery