Their Families Said They Needed Treatment. Mississippi Officials Threw Them in Jail

Florida Man is a silly meme that is overdone.

Mississippi Man is where it's at!

 

That said, unfortunately the biggest mental health facilities in our country are our prisons. It is not illegal to be mentally ill and it is an urban myth that those with mental illness are more dangerous than the rest of the population. They are more likely to be the victims of crime than to be the perpetrators. Things like the Baker Act or the 5150 have to be carefully crafted to ensure safety while at the same time protecting civil liberties. Resources are sorely lacking.

 

Highlights how cruelty and laziness is a feature of the system. Mississippi is the dregs, bringing up the rear across numerous metrics but in some ways they're not all that different than most states--at least historically.