Disabled Offenders

Defining Disabled Offenders

The definition of disabled offender includes broad categories of the disability community. Disability offenders include individuals who have disabilities related to one or more of the following areas: (1) physical, (2) mental, (3) aging, or (4) additional disabilities. Basic categories include (1) severe psychological disability, (2) mental retardation, (3) neurological impairment, and (4) substance abuse problems. These individuals may suffer multiple handicaps, mental disorders, and drug abuse problems.

Offenders with severe social limitations, learning disabilities, language barriers, and educational [Page 111]deficiencies present a major dilemma. The aging inmate population and mandated sentences impact correctional communities with an assortment of infirmities, including Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Sex offenders, considered treatable, may also be included in the disabled category. This entry will emphasize intellectually disabled offenders.

Disabled offenders may suffer several handicaps, like neurological disorders, mental retardation, or drug abuse problems, and their specialized needs and problems require individualized attention and solutions.

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Intellectually disabled offenders have difficulty when attempting to verbalize their needs and express themselves. Therefore, disabled individuals are particularly vulnerable to abuses from the criminal justice system; however, most of their crimes are less violent. Many disabled offenders have a profound need for acceptance. They have the capacity to be easily motivated or manipulated into engaging in criminal behaviors. Their goal is to achieve approval or friendship. This offender is especially vulnerable when dependent personality disorder is added to the intellectual disability.

Encounters with Law Enforcement and the Criminal Justice System

The intellectually disadvantaged population is particularly susceptible during police interviews and interrogations. Disabled offenders may be inclined to accommodate the police at some point in the interrogation. Because of their disability, they are more likely to confess to crimes they did not commit. In addition, they are less likely to understand their constitutional rights under the Miranda decision and thus are less likely to withhold statements pending an attorney's counsel.

The intellectually disadvantaged may desire to please those in authority, leading to inadequate legal counsel and speedy plea bargains. They are more likely to plead guilty and not necessarily receive a lesser sentence or reduced charges. The legal disadvantages at predetermined stages of the criminal justice system create a double standard for achieving justice for the disabled offender.

Inmates with intellectual disabilities are at constitutional risk and legal disadvantage during their experience with the criminal justice system. Pretrial and trial processes present conflict for disadvantaged offender populations. Their status creates the need for an individualized effort to meet the constitutional mandates of the Fourteenth Amendment (the due process clause and equal protection clause requirements). Immediate assistance from an attorney may help disabled individuals receive equal justice under the law.

The intellectually disabled are especially defenseless and open to exploitation when incarcerated with hardened criminals. There is approximately one intellectually disadvantaged prisoner for every 20 prisoners. Once incarcerated, the disabled prisoner is very likely to become victim to sexual exploitation, which leads to additional emotional problems.

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