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Crazy In America: The Hidden Tragedy Of Our Criminalized Mentally Ill, by Mary Beth Pfieffer (Carroll & Graf, 2007, 280 pp. $15.95)
Loaded on May 15, 2008
by David Preston
published in Prison Legal News
May, 2008, page 32
Reviewed by David Preston
Filed under:
Reviews,
Mental Health,
Failure to Treat (Mental Illness),
Suicides.
Location:
United States of America.
Imagine how tough your life would be if you were trying to cope with schizophrenia or severe depression. Plenty tough, right? Now imagine yourself, a schizophrenic, being suddenly torn from the shelter of your family, denied medication, and tossed into a punishment cell, essentially a sensory-deprivation …
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More from this issue:
- Washington Jail Prisoners Suffer from Overcrowding, Abusive Guards, Inadequate Health Care and Indifferent Politicians, by Roger Smith
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- When Courts Get it Wrong: Clark v. Beard, by Mumia Abu-Jamal
- NY Court Dismisses Prisoner’s Assault Claim, Voids $500,000 Jury Award
- Deadly Staph Infection 'Superbug' Has a Dangerous Foothold in U.S. Jails, by Silja JA Talvi
- $100,000 Damage Award Vacated for Seven-Year Service Delay
- Summer of Discontent, by John Dannenberg
- Prison Doctors, Tainted by Regulatory Board Discipline, Administer Wisconsin Prisoner Care, by David Reutter
- My Space Becomes “No Space” for Online Sex Offenders, by David Reutter
- $2 Million Confidential Settlement In CCA Prisoner’s 2004 Beating Death Revealed, by Alex Friedmann
- Washington DOC Pays PLN $541,000 for Illegally Withholding Records, by Michael Rigby
- Habeas Hints: Amending Petitions, by Kent A. Russell
- Crazy In America: The Hidden Tragedy Of Our Criminalized Mentally Ill, by Mary Beth Pfieffer (Carroll & Graf, 2007, 280 pp. $15.95), by David Preston
- Texas Prison Health Care: On the Brink of Unconstitutionality, Again, by Matthew Clarke
- Georgia Prisoner Assaulted By Jailer Awarded $5,300
- Texas Youth Commission Wants Increased Pepper Spray Use Despite Settlement, by Michael Rigby
- Wrongful Termination of Georgia Jail Guards by New Sheriff Settles for $7 Million
- $3,175,000 Judgment against Private Health Contractor for Illinois Prisoner’s Stroke
- North Carolina Execution Laws Trump Medical Board’s Ethics Declaration, by John Dannenberg
- Alabama DOC Charges Prisoners Unlawful Fees to Cover Budget Shortfalls, by Matthew Clarke
- Alabama Parole Board Employee Pleads Guilty to Misuse of Computer Information
- Michigan Prisoner Beaten By Guards Awarded $6,004
- Innocent California Prisoner Paid $3,171,000 For 12 Years Wrongful incarceration
- South Florida Federal Court Censors Online Plea Agreements
- News in Brief:
- $56,274 Verdict in Negligent Rhode Island Maintenance Claim
More from David Preston:
- American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination, by Kristian Williams, South End Press, 279 pages, Nov. 15, 2009
- Columbia Jail Journal: The Compelling, Exclusive Inside Story of the Columbia Three, by James Monaghan, Brandon Press, 277 pages, Oct. 15, 2009
- Unlock the Box: Documenting the Struggle to Shut Down Prison Control Units, Reel Soldier Productions / MIM (www.abolishcontrolunits.org) 2008, 2:00 hours, May 15, 2009
- Writ Writer: One Man's Journey for Justice, Feb. 15, 2009
- An Execution in the Family: One Son’s Journey, by Robert Meeropol; St. Martin’s Griffin, 273 pages, $14.95, Dec. 15, 2008
- Snitch: Informants, Cooperators & the Corruption of Justice, by Ethan Brown Public Affairs Publishing, 273 pages, $25.95, Nov. 15, 2008
- Torture Taxi: On the Trail of the CIA’s Rendition Flights, 
by Trevor Paglen and A.C. Thompson. 
Melville House Publishing, 205 pages, $23.00, Oct. 15, 2008
- Crazy In America: The Hidden Tragedy Of Our Criminalized Mentally Ill, by Mary Beth Pfieffer (Carroll & Graf, 2007, 280 pp. $15.95), May 15, 2008
More from these topics:
- Fifth Circuit Kills Louisiana Prison Medical and Mental Health Care Reform, July 1, 2026. Medical, Conditions of Confinement, PLRA, Immunity/Liability, Mental Health.
- $25,000 Paid to Former New York Jail Detainee Subjected to Delayed Healthcare and Denied Mental Healthcare— Despite Seven Suicide Attempts, July 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Conditions of Confinement, Mental Health, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- Three Women Died at a Michigan Prison in Less than a Month, July 1, 2026. Systemic Medical Neglect, Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Deliberate Indifference.
- After Spoliation Sanction, CoreCivic Settles Suit Over Suicide in New Mexico ICE Lockup, July 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Discovery, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Study Shows That Suicide Intervention During and After Incarceration Reduces Suicide Attempts by 55%, June 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Suicides, Health care.
- Over $2 Million Paid by Otero County and VitalCore Health Strategies for New Mexico Jail Suicide, June 1, 2026. Failure to Treat, Medical Neglect/Malpractice, Suicides, Immunity - Sovereign/Municipal, Deliberate Indifference.
- Settlement Reached in Mental Health Care Class-Action at San Diego County Jails, June 1, 2026. Settlements, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Class Actions, Administrative Detention/Segregation, Inadequate Health Care Facilities.
- $1 Million Settlement Reached in Jail Suicide of Maryland Detainee Whose Emergency Hospitalization Order Was Ignored, June 1, 2026. Qualified Immunity, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Deliberate Indifference.
- $250,000 Paid by Maine to Former Prisoner Held in Solitary Confinement—Which the State DOC Says Doesn’t Exist, June 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Americans with Disabilities Act, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
- Spike in Massachusetts Prisoner Suicides Blamed on Isolation, K-2 and Spotty Mental Healthcare, May 1, 2026. DOJ CRIPA Actions, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Administrative Detention/Segregation.

