Dementia in prison is a rapidly growing problem that most prisons are not equipped to handle. The increasing population of inmates over the age of 65 has led to unique challenges in the prison system. It is estimated that 20% of inmates over the age of 50 suffer from some type of cognitive decline. As inmates in prison age, they experience the same issues, in some cases to a greater degree, that those who are aging on the outside experience.
 
Proper Training and Care
 
Dementia refers to a decline in mental ability that affects one's day to day life. Individuals with dementia are often confused and have poor memory and cognitive skills. People with dementia require specialized care to help them handle their day to day needs. Due to the confusion they experience, people with dementia frequently act out in ways that are not socially acceptable. This can be especially problematic in a prison setting.
 
Corrections officers don’t typically receive training on how to handle the unique challenges presented by prisoners with dementia. These prisoners may not be able to properly take care of their daily needs or even have the ability to feed themselves. Corrections officers are not trained to provide the proper care needed.
 
Solutions
 
One approach to the prevalence of dementia in the prison system is the development of units within the prison that are specially designed for dementia patients.  States like Californiahave been working towards putting these units in place. California currently relies on volunteer inmates as part of their Gold Coat Programand other staff to help those with dementia, but it has been a difficult road. Prisoners with dementia often require around the clock care which is something that prison may not be equipped to handle. They need to be treated in a unit that is more like a nursing home setting. Costs of these units run high, however, and states may not see them as feasible alternatives. However, it is important that dementia patients are treated appropriately for the health and safety of all prisoners. 
 
If you or a loved one has a mental disability and has been arrested or convicted of a crime, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side. Elizabeth Kelley specializes in representing individuals with mental illness or intellectual/developmental disability. To schedule a consultation call (509) 991-7058.

It is an unfortunate reality that dementia can happen to anyone later in life. Conditions such as Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia are common. It is estimated that 5.8 millionAmericans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. It’s a devastating disease that wreaks havoc on families and communities. 

What is Dementia?

Dementia is a loss of cognitive functioning that affects a person’s daily life. Dementia affects a person’s ability to think, remember, and reason. Skills such as language, reasoning, self-control, and memory can all become seriously impaired. Dementia is not a normal part of aging. It happens when neurons in the brain stop working, lose the connections with other brain cells, and die. 

Dementia and Crime

Dementia can have a profound effect on an individual’s personality and ability to function in society. People who would never commit a crime may find themselves on the wrong side of the criminal justice system. Criminal behavior that starts in mid to late life may be a sign of dementia. People with dementia are often confused and may lash out when they don’t understand what is happening to them. When your 70-year-old aunt, who would never hurt a fly, hits someone at the grocery store, chances are some form of dementia is involved. 
A 2015 studypublished in the Journal Neurology, found that new, late-onset criminal activity could be a sign of dementia. The study also found that the types of crimes committed varied among dementia patients. The study found that 8% of the Alzheimer's patients studied had been involved in the legal system. Often their crimes involved things like trespassing on private property, traffic violations, or shoplifting. Anti-social behaviors such as public urination and fighting occurred with other forms of dementia such as frontotemporal dementia.

Criminal Responsibility

The question for our criminal justice system becomes whether those with dementia who commit crimes should be held criminally responsible for their actions. Confusion, lack of impulse control, and lack of memory may indicate that people with dementia who commit crimes are not aware that their actions are criminal. Individuals who have dementia lack the state of mind to be held responsible for their crimes and should be treated and cared for, not placed in the criminal justice system. 
​
If you or a loved one has a mental disability and has been arrested or convicted of a crime, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side. Elizabeth Kelley specializes in representing individuals with mental disabilities. To schedule a consultation call (509) 991-7058.

​Virginia state officials introduced legislation that will write new standards for mental health care in county jails. There has been an increased focus on jails in Virginia after the 2015 death of Jamychael Mitchell in the Hampton Roads Regional Jail. Mitchell suffered from severe mental illness and was not transferred to a state hospital as ordered by a judge. The paperwork ordering the transfer had been lost and Mitchell had been held for four months for stealing snacks from a convenience store. Earlier this year a judge signed off on a $3 million settlement between the jail and Mitchell’s family.
 
Justice Department Report
 
A 2018 report from the U.S. Justice Department found that medical and mental health care in Virginia jails probably violated the Constitution. The Hampton Roads Regional Jail has been the focus of much of the criticism. The jail has become the dumping ground for most of the sickest inmates in Virginia’s coastal region. The Justice Department report notes that the jail failed to provide adequate medical and mental health care and did not have enough medical staff. The report also took issue with the jail’s use of isolation. 
 
The report proposed legislative reforms to develop better standards in jails. One reform would be to develop a statutory definition of “mental illness.” Another proposed reform would make it easier to prosecute medical providers who abuse or neglect an incapacitated adult. Prosecutors also recommended annual unannounced inspections of local jails. 
 
New Standards
 
The new standards developed in response to the report include the unannounced annual inspections. Jails would also be required to submit quarterly reports which would be published on the Board of Corrections website. The Board of Corrections is required to work with Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Standards and the Office of the Inspector General to put together comprehensive new standards in writing by November. A work group had already been formed to put together a starting point for standards that would be consistent across the state’s county jails.
 
If you or a loved one has a mental disability and has been arrested or convicted of a crime, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side. Elizabeth Kelley specializes in representing individuals with mental disabilities. To schedule a consultation call (509) 991-7058.

​A new smartphone application that works with Google Glass may help boost the social skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A small studypublished in the Journal Pediatrics found that over the course of six weeks, children who used the app at home made greater gains in their social abilities than those children who attended therapy alone. While the study is preliminary and the app is not currently commercially available, the results look promising.
 
Help With Social Skills
 
Many children with autism suffer socially because they are unable to properly recognize and respond to feelings and emotions in others. They typically have particular difficulty recognizing facial expressions. A group of scientists built facial recognition software for Google Glass to help children with autism distinguish between different facial expressions and learn how to interact socially. 
 
Google Glass is a brand of smart glasses with an optical head-mounted display that is designed in the shape of glasses. Google Glass displays information like a smartphone in a hands-free way. Wearers of the device can communicate with the internet using voice commands. 
 
The new app called “Superpower Glass” helps children decipher what is happening with the people around them. The camera and speaker report information to a smartphone app which is designed to help the children decode what is happening and how to respond. After using Superpower Glass for four 20-minute sessions for six weeks, children scored better on tests of socialization, communication, and behavior.
 
The app relies on artificial intelligence to offer children feedback on social interactions. This helps them learn from experience the appropriate ways to respond in social situations. The app gives the children feedback in real time. When the children look at a face, a green light flashes and an emoji tells the kids what emotion the face is displaying. The study shows promising results but it still remains to be seen whether Superpower Glass is feasible in real-world settings and whether families will actually choose to use the app.  
 
If you or a loved one has a mental disability and has been arrested or convicted of a crime, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side. Elizabeth Kelley specializes in representing individuals with mental disabilities. To schedule a consultation call (509) 991-7058.