This paper highlights the forgotten mental health crisis inside Indian prisons. While thousands of inmates suffer from psychological distress, ranging from trauma to depression to violent outbursts, there is no formal system for psychotherapy in most jails. This silence is not just a public health failure; it violates the Indian Constitution, especially Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and dignity. The paper argues that denying psychotherapy to prisoners is a form of institutional violence, and it contradicts both national laws like the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 and international agreements such as the United Nations Nelson Mandela Rules. Using real-life examples, legal precedents and government reports, the study shows that prisoners are being psychologically punished rather than reformed. The paper calls for urgent reforms, starting with mental health screening at admission, tele-therapy partnerships with institutions like the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) and the recognition of therapy as a basic legal right in the prison system. This work fills a major research gap by framing psychotherapy in prisons not as a welfare option but as a constitutional and human rights obligation, an argument rarely made in Indian academic or policy literature.

Prison has long been recognized as a racialized institution in America, where race determines myriad aspects of life—from where individuals sleep to those with whom they live, eat, and socialize during incarceration. However, there is little evidence on how to effectively remediate prisons’ deep racial divisions—a question that is imperative given that interracial animus in prisons can be both a result and a determinant of racial conflict and violence. In this study, we argue that higher education in prison has significant potential to improve racial attitudes and foster racial integration by providing a “contrasting context” for interracial interaction in the classroom within an otherwise racially segregated institution. Using administrative data on college-level course completion, an original longitudinal survey of prison college students, and in-depth qualitative interviews with prison college alumni, we show evidence of shifts in racial attitudes and self-reported behavior as students move through their college career. Our results demonstrate the potential for prison higher education to shift race-based norms and offer a framework through which to analyze prison education that prioritizes outcomes of interest beyond recidivism.

This article explores Eugene V. Debs’s experiences at the Moundsville prison and the federal penitentiary in Atlanta (1919–1921). It looks at his relationships with other inmates and his supporters outside of prison and examines the effects prison life had on Debs and his ideology. Most importantly, it closely examines his only book-length work: his prison memoir, Walls and Bars. It explores Debs’s critique of the prison system, the jailing of drug addicts, and the interconnectedness of capitalism and the penitentiary system.

Abdol-Hossain Taymourtash, Reza Shah’s first minister of court, was universally recognized as the most powerful man in Iran after the shah himself. He was the lieutenant, ran the government for him. He played a key role at the shah’s side in selecting cabinet ministers and the deputies to be elected to parliament. He helped shape and realize Reza Shah’s vision for the revival and modernization of Iran. Yet in 1933, royal favor was suddenly withdrawn, and Taymourtash was arrested and imprisoned where, in all probability Reza Shah had him put to death. This article focuses on the always fraught relationship between a powerful autocrat and his loyal and efficacious lieutenant, and on the dilemma of those who wish to serve their countries and end up doing so at the cost of serving as the agents of a dictatorship.

A description is provided of the current situation in Aotearoa New Zealand with regard to compulsory treatment of people with schizophrenia. This is placed within the context of homelessness in New Zealand and the provision of services to the incarcerated mentally ill. There are high rates of homelessness and incarceration and services are struggling to meet their needs. This is particularly a problem for the indigenous population. The current Mental Health Act allows for compulsory treatment of people who as a result of schizophrenia are seriously impaired in their capacity to care for themselves, and this will include people where there is a nexus between homelessness and their illness. The Mental Health Act is being reformed, with a new act likely to emphasize autonomy and capacity to a greater degree. Finally, the author considers the learnings from 5 years working within the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre, which provides a unique perspective on these issues.

This article summarises the BJPsych Bulletin 2024 special edition on mental health in criminal justice and correctional settings. The edition considers issues across a range of settings, including police custody, the courts and prisons, as well as considering wider international questions and systems within the field. In this edition, we assert the right of the individual to healthcare services that should be available, accessible, acceptable and of good quality. Psychiatry must play a significant role in shaping this debate as it moves forward.

Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) (which includes euthanasia and assisted suicide) is available in an increasing number of countries. In Belgium, The Netherlands and Switzerland (and was due to be implemented in Canada from 2024) eligibility includes mental suffering in the absence of any physical disorder. There are particular ethical and legal issues when considering MAiD for those involuntarily detained in prisons and hospitals. We describe four recent cases that illustrate these complexities, and highlight issues of equivalence of healthcare and self-determination against concerns about the criteria for determining eligibility of those with non-terminal conditions as well as the objections raised by victims and families and the demands for justice.

The United States Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization made it drastically harder for women to access abortions. The Dobbs decision has had a disproportionate impact on women who are incarcerated or on some form of community supervision such as probation or parole. This Note analyzes a potential right to an abortion for women involved in the criminal justice system, even those living in states that have banned or deeply restricted abortion access after the Dobbs decision. In doing so, this Note looks for different constitutional avenues to protect incarcerated women’s right to an abortion, including under the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.