Since deinstitutionalization began in the late 1970s, whereby thousands of psychiatric patients occupying asylums and hospitals were moved from institutional settings into the community, many of the problems in managing the care of these individuals have increased. Although it was anticipated that patients suffering from mental illnesses would experience a better quality of life, the outcomes of deinstitutionalization have not benefitted everyone. For many, the result has been a form of transinstitutionalization, particularly from psychiatric hospitals to correctional centres. This research looks at the outcomes experienced by the severely mentally ill and how their mental illnesses impact their contact with the justice, medical, and social systems.