The Released

Every year, thousands of Americans are released from prison back into society—many are schizophrenics armed only with a bus ticket, about $75 in cash, and a couple of weeks' worth of medications. With few resources and little family support, these offenders quickly find themselves caught up in an unending cycle of “spiritual insanity,” suffering dashed hopes and despair, before ultimately winding up in jail again. This PBS-aired Frontline documentary follows several Ohio men as they experience this “hard drop into reality.” Most of these men wage a constant struggle with paranoia, drug and alcohol abuse, and delusions (one man claims to see Osama bin Laden everywhere). At first, the subjects report to case managers who try to help them find work and housing, but eventually most go off their meds, become homeless, and get into more trouble. Tragically, much of this can be traced back several decades ago when the mentally ill were deinstitutionalized and set free from long-term confinement in asylums. Featuring insights from doctors, caseworkers, and former residents of jails and mental hospitals, few of the stories in The Released end happily or successfully (one man is shot to death during a robbery in a group home). The question successfully raised by the film is this: we can shut down the mental hospitals and release people from jails, but what does freedom actually entail for those suffering from chronic mental illness? A valuable discussion starter, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)