84% of prisoners suffer from some mental disorder in prison, according to a study in Catalonia

They point out that it is necessary "a legal system that advances on the path of the release of mental disorders"

BARCELONA, 21 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

84% of inmates suffer from some type of mental disorder while serving a sentence in prison, according to the study 'Mental health in the Catalan prison system. Overview and challenges', presented by Justícia i Pau Barcelona.

They explained it during a press conference at the Col legi de Periodistes this Wednesday by a member of the working group that prepared the study, Núria Sastre, and a prison volunteer from Justícia i Pau Barcelona, ​​Roser García.

Sastre explained that this study has been carried out together with the Department of Justice, and that it has been verified that the average number of suicides in prison is much higher than that of the outside population, and that more than half of the women in prison -who they represent 6.5% of the prison population-- have suffered mental illness in prison.

They have also verified that the percentage of mechanical restraints in Catalonia is "much higher than in the rest of Spain", and that mental pathologies arise and increase in long-term sentences.

The study concludes that there is no legal mandate that requires a periodic evaluation of convicted persons; there is no official explanation as to why people with mental health problems have not been excluded from the prison system, and a system of extra-penitentiary detention has not been foreseen.

In addition, Sastre explained that there is a lack of permanent prison staff, resources and specialized training in penal psychiatric units, and that "sufficient efforts are not dedicated to guaranteeing that inmates with these pathologies have a range of services that favor the maximum his mental health."

For his part, García has assured that he has detected that the majority of incarcerated people have some type of mental disorder and that "even those who are not diagnosed with any psychiatric illness take medication."

"These lawsuits conclude that a legal system is necessary that advances decisively along the path of the release of mental disorders. We cannot afford a penal system that, instead of contributing to social well-being, is the cause of mental pathology and exclusion of those who suffer it. suffer", added García.

When asked about the arrest of Miguel Ricart, murderer of the crime in Alcàsser (Valencia), for allegedly leading a drug store in Barcelona, ​​García has defended that Ricart served the sentence imposed on him for the crime and that "they did not want him at all place".

"He went to a town and demonstrations were held in front of the City Hall to throw him out. This is the great job that we have socially: a person who has served a sentence, has done what he has done, has complied with society and we must help him, accept him and incorporate it instead of rejecting it. If in the end, the closer we have it, the better", he maintained.