Beyond Deinstitutionalization: Unraveling the Complex Criminalization of Serious Mental Illness in America

• By: Ashley Brody, MPA, CPRP Search for Change, Inc.
• October 12th, 2026
• criminal justice system, deinstitutionalization, Fall 2026 Issue, homelessness, incarceration, prison industrial complex, reentry, serious mental illness, SMI
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Individuals with Serious Mental Illness (SMI) are disproportionately represented among the populations of the nation's correctional facilities. Some have dubbed jails and prisons the "New Asylums" as the criminal justice system has become the de facto service provider for individuals with severe...