Mysteries of Mental Illness

(foreboding music) -

Narrator

Today, America's largest mental health facilities aren't hospitals. They're jails. When I first became Sheriff here in Cook County, I honestly didn't truly understand what I was getting myself into. -

Screener

Have you ever been diagnosed with any mental illnesses or any mental health issues? Bipolar one disorder. When you felt depressed, has it lasted every day for two weeks or longer? Give or take. -

Screener

Give or take? Yeah. -

Screener

What diagnosis qualified you for that care? Bipolar. -

Screener

Okay. Interpersonality Disorder. -

Sheriff

Entire divisions were filled with people who were mentally ill. Our population pretty consistently is 40% with a diagnosed mental illness. (jailhouse chatter) -

Narrator

About 50,000 people pass through Chicago's Cook County Jail each year. Over 90% are people of color. (concentrated music) As a result of institutionalized racism and the legacy of mass incarceration in this country, we know that black men with mental health problems are more likely to be brought in by police compared to white men. Now, there is an increased awareness of the racial injustice that our country is facing. And the field of psychiatry is at the center of this reckoning. -

Narrator

Like many here, Jeremiah Robinson grew up on the south side of Chicago. It was a pretty okay neighborhood for me, but as I got a little older, it started to be a little bit dysfunctional. Lotta drug dealin'. People getting hurt, violence. I was a A and B student, but kinda messed up a little bit in high school. I was fightin' a lot. -

Narrator

In high school, Jeremiah was twice referred to a mental hospital. They figured that I had a behavior problem, but I didn't realize that I was having a mental problem. (inmates yelling) -

Narrator

Jeremiah is awaiting trial for parole violation and weapons possession. This is his 15th arrest. Past charges include drunk driving and drug possession. I definitely know that this is some type of problem that's affected me. (men chatting) -

Narrator

Jail and prison psychiatrists diagnosed him with schizophrenia, anxiety, bipolar, and post-traumatic stress disorder. This picture right here? It's like of my daughter. It's just off-the-head type of sketch. And I ain't finished it up though. I just kind of get a li'l, my anxiety kick in a little bit and you know, and I don't wanna, I tend, like I say, I can't stay focused on one thing for too long so I wind up doing somethin' else. So that's why I didn't complete the drawin' though. I kind of think of the jail, almost the emergency room. Here's where we stabilize you. Right? So you're gonna need some long-term care after you're stabilized. There isn't any one place that we can send them to, to make sure that they're cared about once they leave the jail. It just doesn't exist anymore. -

Narrator

How did this happen? How did prisons and jails become a frontline treatment for the mentally ill?