They were in some, but not all cases. Turning them out into the streets to rot in the gutter while they spiral out in their insanity is certainly morally more c

They were in some, but not all cases. Turning them out into the streets to rot in the gutter while they spiral out in their insanity is certainly morally more convenient, but not, IMO, superior to attempting to build an infrastructure that provides treatment and long term care for people suffering so deeply as this. Freedom that’s a living hell isn’t freedom, it’s just freedom from responsibility for caring. A lot of seriously mentally ill folks burn their family care due to the extreme burden it places on them, and the fact a lot of mania and schizophrenia accompanies a willful belief in their own sanity and autonomy, and a lack of personal knowledge of their state. This makes keeping them under care and medications extraordinarily difficult. Prison isn’t the answer. Mental health facilities is. That’s the real alternative to letting them back into the streets. Prisons aren’t equipped to treat anyone.