User blog comment:PyroGothNerd/Cliches/@comment-1631480-20140514045155/@comment-1631480-20140517050735

I agree that if you're going to write a character with a mental illness (protag or antag) it's good to know what that illness is actually about. Sure, there's going to be a case of a person with schizophrenia committing murder, but then people begin to write every character that has schizophrenia off unfortunate events such as that, and that can create a bad generalization of what the illness actually is about. I guess it makes for a more interesting story, but it gets frustrating after awhile. It's the same with autism, OCD, social anxiety, etc. When creating a character with mental illness, do a ton of research. It shouldn't override the characters personality, either.

I think people who have admit to having mental illness and get framed for a crime or have committed a crime get less time in prison or get sent to a mental institution (depending on the severity of the illness). Usually a criminal gets checked for that kind of thing I assume. If they were off their meds for example, they'd get less time or no time at all. People who do have a mental illness are probably more likely to be assumed a criminal over someone who doesn't have mental illness though.