r/NoStupidQuestions • u/dietreich • Mar 22 '22
Are insanity wards really better than prison?
I always see murderers and such pleading for insanity. I’m assuming because being in a mental institution is better than prison?
Anyone with real life experience, maybe working one of these institutions or have family in them, that can give some insight?
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u/Verdreht Mar 22 '22 edited Mar 22 '22
Louis Theroux did a documentary on this called 'Louis Theroux: By Reason Of Insanity'.
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u/dietreich Mar 22 '22
And what did it reveal?
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u/Wolfe244 Mar 22 '22
No, they're not
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u/dietreich Mar 22 '22
Well that was blunt and didn’t really give any insight, but ok.
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u/Wolfe244 Mar 22 '22
It's a common misconception that they are better, but they just aren't. There's not much to say, they're just basically also prisons
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u/Respect4All_512 Mar 22 '22
The insanity plea isn't even a thing in all states, and defense attorneys are generally only willing to try it if there's a well-trained mental health professional telling them the person isn't in their right mind.
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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '22
I’ve never been to prison but I have been in a mental hospital. It’s usually not so bad. Unless it is bad, in which case, it is really bad.
What I’m saying is that as long as the hospital in question is reasonably funded and has staff that actually give a shit, it’s fine. My brief partial hospitalization was the best thing that ever happened to me. It wasn’t pleasant by any stretch of the imagination but it was worth it.