Most of a nation on probation?

[petro]

>>On Thu, 5 Jul 2001, petro pulled this right out of his ass...
>>
>>>   	The disparity in numbers is largely due to the way we treat
>>>   the mentally ill. "They" (Russia, and most of europe) don't count the
>>>   numbers of people forcebly institutionalized for "mental illness" as
>>>   part of their prisoner counts, and here in the US the government
>>>   *usually* doesn't forcibly institutionalize someone until after
>>>   they've committed a crime, or at least been convicted of a crime of
>>>   some sort, whether it really should be a crime.
>>
>>Total, unequivocal bullshit.  You have anything to back up these absurd
>>statements?
>>
>>(1) "Forcibly institutionalized" patients are *NOT* [legally] "prisoners",
>>and therefore are not included in prisoner counts.  Obviously, this
>>statement excludes those persons committed to institutions by a court as
>>"unfit to stand trial" - a microscopic percentage of the
>>"patient" population in the U.S.
>>
>>(2) The "2-P.C." [2 Psychiatrist Committal] laws do NOT apply to someone
>>*after* they have committed a crime.  After they commit a crime, they are
>>under the jurisdiction of a *court*, and they are no longer patients (and
>>only _patients_ get 2-P.C.'d).
>>
>
>	Funny, you are accusing me of saying pretty much what you just said.
>
>	Hmmm...
>
>	Let me try to repeat myself is a way you might be able to 
>understand it.
>
>	In this country we *DO NOT INSTUTIONALIZE* many of our 
>"mentally ill" like they do in other countries (Russia, Europe) Nor 
>do we count those who are as "prisoners" (which many other countries 
>do).

	Change that last bit to "(which most other countries don't)".
-- 
http://www.apa.org/journals/psp/psp7761121.html
It is one of the essential features of such incompetence that the person so
afflicted is incapable of knowing that he is incompetent. To have such
knowledge would already be to remedy a good portion of the offense.