Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter is an extremely bias columnist. She loves to let you know her own opinion and only supports her own opinion. She never gives any positive feedback about the opposing side. One of her writings was about the brutal killing of Stephanie Neiman. Her killer, Clayton Lockett, was diagnosed with depression at a extremely young age. He was treated several times for mental issues and was locked up in a adult prison at 16 years old. After being locked in adult prison he was then released and convicted to four more major felonies. Lockett was on parole but then taken off to become a “normal citizen.”
Do you think that law enforcment should pay more attention to the mentally ill? Do you think that the government should also keep a better watch on past criminals?
In certain cases I do agree that law enforcement should pay more attention to the mentally ill. I think that they should pay more attention to people with certain mental illness that have proven to risk the safety of others. I think there is no point of paying more attention to people with mental illnesses that would never do any harm. Therefore, I think they should study which illnesses may cause people to do unlawful things and from there, they can decide who to pay more attention to. I also do think the government should keep a better watch on past criminals. If they have committed a crime once, they could easily do it again. Some criminals change for the better, but others don’t learn and commit the same crimes over and over. Therefore, by keeping a better watch on past criminals the government might be able to prevent more crimes.
That’s an interesting situation, Devan. Ann Coulter seems to be a biased writer like you stated in the column. Also, I think that law enforcement should pay more attention to mentally ill along with former criminals due to their threat of committing a crime. There is a greater chance of them committing a crime rather than a normal citizen with no criminal past. However, I think that they should not restrict them too much, rather just keep a keen eye on them to make sure they are in check. This is a very intriguing issue brought up, thanks for sharing.
I believe that if a mentally ill person was to commit a crime, depending on their illness (like Koby said, if it is proven that it could risk the safety of others) they should be placed in a facility of some sort, where they could receive treatment for their illness, but also be in an environment where they are doing time for the crime they committed.
As for those who’ve committed past crimes, I do think that the government should watch them closely. While it’s true, some people do learn the error of their ways after being in prison, some people simply do not and will continue to commit crimes. If there was a closer watch on previous criminals, I feel like the crime rate would drop sufficiently.
Law enforcement definitely should keep a better watch on the mentally ill. Mental illnesses are not taken seriously in America, and instead of seeing victims as sick, they are seen as guilty. This leads people to believe that traditional punishments will work for rehabilitating the mentally ill, however instead it just reinforces their behavior. If you then release these offenders back into society they will just be angrier and less in control then they were before prison. Police should treat the mentally ill differently in punishments, and view them more as victims of their diseases as opposed to criminal offenders. The government should keep better tabs on past offenders, especially if they are mentally unstable. The American prison system is very poor at rehabilitating criminals, and often times those released just go on to become repeat offenders. How could you expect someone to be able to reintegrate into society after years or even decades of being treated like animals locked into cages? To counter this the government could work on improving their existing parole system, as well as creating a way for felons to be reintroduced into society without them relapsing to their previous ways.
This is an extremely interesting topic written by Coulter, however, I do not particularly agree with Coulter’s bias writing style. I feel that if an author is going to take a position on a controversial topic or argument, the author should address both positions on the issue rather than only providing opinions and facts to support one side. Although Coulter appears to be a bias writer, I do agree with her standings on law enforcement with the mentally ill. I believe that the mentally ill should be given more attention than a “normal” citizen. Citizens who are mentally ill are not stable and are more likely to commit crimes, therefore these citizens need to be given more attention. Along with the mentally ill receiving more attention, I also believe that the government should keep a better watch on past criminals. A criminal is usually punished for their wrong-doings, however, not all learn their lesson. As a result, regulations should be placed on these criminals even after they have put forth their time in prison or what have it. In my opinion a criminal will always be a criminal, and therefore should be restricted on certain occurrences as well as the government paying particular attention to these citizens. As a result, I truly believe that crime rate would sufficiently decrease.
I definitely think that law enforcement should pay more attention to the mentally ill if they are former criminals. I don’t think that all mentally ill people are a risk to society, but if they do happen to be criminals, it just makes them all the more unpredictable. I do think mental illnesses in general should be taken more seriously and be better taken care of. They should be considered actual mental illnesses and be treated the same way. This way, these people will be better treated and less likely to commit horrific crimes. I also think that past criminals should be monitored very closely after getting out, or, based on the magnitude of their crimes, never be released at all. I think that in some situations these criminals should never be given a second chance because we shouldn’t put several others into more danger on the behalf of one person.
I do think law enforcement should pay more attention to the mentally ill, especially those who are past criminals. I believe this because they are not always aware of the cultural norm. This may lead to situations where they may not realize they are doing something wrong. I also believe past criminals should be watched more. This is because criminals often continue crimes even after they are caught. People can have rough lives after prison and may think committing crimes again is the only thing they can do. While some people can change, not all people are willing to.
This is a hard topic to respond to because obviously you want feel bad for the mentally ill, but at the same time, you have to protect the people that could be in danger because of them. I think law enforcement should pay more attention to the mentally ill because they don’t always know the difference between right and wrong, and bad things could come of this such as the killing of Stephanie Neiman. With the killer’s past, however, he should not have been allowed to be alone and make his own decisions. I think that he should have been in a mental facility as well as receiving psychiatric treatment often.
-Colleen K.
I do think that law enforcement should pay more attention to the mentally ill. They definitely should pay more attention if they were past criminals. I don’t think they should go out of there way to treat the mentally ill person differently. They should just watch a little more closely. I do think the government should keep a better eye on past criminals. Its a hard choice because it depends on what their past crime was. You should let them have their second chance but also watch in case they try to commit another crime.
I do think that the mentally ill should get more attention than the do. People often assume that they are dramatic or can get by just fine, but we know from the past that they really aren’t. Often, the people responsible for mass murder at public shootings have previous history of being mentally ill. More often than not, they don’t seek help or can’t stay in help until they are fully ready for the world. I do also think the government should keep a better watch on past criminals. Although getting punished (or not) theymay never change, they are the only ones who truly know what is going on in their head.