MARC Record from Library of Congress

LEADER: 03156cam a22004454a 4500
001 2008002697
003 DLC
005 20080811130804.0
008 080118s2008 nyua b 001 0 eng
010 $a 2008002697
016 7 $a101464132$2DNLM
020 $a9780393066586 (hardcover)
020 $a0393066584 (hardcover)
035 $a(OCoLC)ocn181139537
035 $a(OCoLC)181139537
040 $aDNLM/DLC$cDLC$dNLM$dBTCTA$dBAKER$dYDXCP$dC#P$dBUR$dDLC
042 $apcc
043 $an-us---
050 00 $aRC443$b.T67 2008
060 00 $a2008 H-943
060 10 $aWM 33 AA1$bT694i 2008
082 00 $a362.196/89$222
100 1 $aTorrey, E. Fuller$q(Edwin Fuller),$d1937-
245 14 $aThe insanity offense :$bhow America's failure to treat the seriously mentally ill endangers its citizens /$cE. Fuller Torrey.
250 $a1st ed.
260 $aNew York :$bW.W. Norton,$cc2008.
300 $axvi, 265 p. :$bill. ;$c25 cm.
504 $aIncludes bibliographical references (p. 219-250) and index.
520 $aBeginning in the 1960s in the United States, scores of patients with severe psychiatric disorders were discharged from public mental hospitals. At the same time, activists forced changes in commitment laws that made it impossible to treat half of the patients that left the hospital. The combined effect was profoundly destructive. Today, among homeless persons, at least one-third are severely mentally ill; among the incarcerated, at least one-tenth. Of those individuals living in our communities, many are the victims of violent crime. Other untreated individuals commit crimes, including murder and assault. Here, advocate Torrey takes full stock of this phenomenon, exploring the causes and consequences as he weaves together narratives of individual tragedies in three states with sobering national data on our failure to treat the mentally ill. In the book's final chapters, Torrey outlines what needs to be done to reverse this ongoing--and accelerating--disaster.--From publisher description.
505 0 $aIntroduction : the origins of a disaster -- Death by the roadside -- Thirteen murders to prevent an earthquake -- "The odds are still in society's favor" -- The killing of three devils -- The sad legacy of Ms. Lessard -- God does not take medication -- The consequences of unconstrained civil liberties : homeless, incarcerated, and victimized -- The consequences of unconstrained civil liberties : violent and homicidal -- An imperative for change -- Fixing the system -- Coda : death by the roadside.
650 0 $aMental health services$zUnited States$xEvaluation.
650 0 $aMentally ill$xDeinstitutionalization$zUnited States.
650 0 $aMentally ill$xCommitment and detention$zUnited States.
650 0 $aDangerously mentally ill$zUnited States.
650 0 $aMental health laws$zUnited States.
650 12 $aCommitment of Mentally Ill$zUnited States.
650 22 $aDangerous Behavior$zUnited States.
650 22 $aDeinstitutionalization$zUnited States.
650 22 $aMental Health Services$xorganization & administration$zUnited States.
650 22 $aMentally Ill Persons$zUnited States.