The Impact of Race and Violence on Perceptions of Justice for Offenders Diagnosed With a Serious Mental Illness

Serious mental illness (SMI) is a complex issue that raises important questions about the treatment of justice system–involved individuals with mental health conditions. This study investigates the perceptions of justice for violent and nonviolent offenders living with an SMI using factorial vignettes to explore differences in attitudes, controlling for factors such as age, race, and political ideology, among a sample of 362 students at a southern university. Attitudes and beliefs were analyzed using ordinal logistic regression, with results showing that respondents were more punitive toward violent offenders diagnosed with an SMI, regardless of race, supporting previous research that examined balanced justice. Interestingly, this finding contradicts other previous research which indicated that participants were more likely to support balanced justice for violent offenders with mental illness more than punitive-oriented approaches. Implications for future policy aimed at addressing SMI through the use of balanced justice initiatives, such as mental health courts, are discussed.