Our work on mental health in the context of the criminal justice system began, simultaneously, with research to understand the mental health concerns of prisoners sentenced to death and as part of providing legal representation to death row prisoners.

Though the criminal justice system takes into account certain kinds of mental disorders to purportedly ensure fair trial rights of prisoners with mental illness, criminal law’s understanding of mental disorders continues to be archaic. It is uninformed by developments in different streams of the field of mental health such as forensic and clinical psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience and has been unable to integrate the right to access quality justice and the right to mental health of accused persons and prisoners with mental disorders.  

Through our work we aim to bridge the gap between criminal law and developments in the various fields related to mental health and integrate within the criminal justice system a rights based approach to mental health to ensure the fulfilment of constitutionally and statutorily guaranteed right to access justice and the right to health.

For our work, we have reached out to experts in clinical and forensic psychiatry, psychology, neurology and social work who have willingly spent their time and energy to help us in our research, litigation and capacity building endeavours.

Research

Mental Health and the Death Penalty

This is the first of its kind empirical and descriptive study to take a psychosocial approach to the mental health of death row prisoners in India. The study was conceived out of the need to collect accurate data on death row prisoners, through an empirical and descriptive study, in order to broaden the current sphere of knowledge on the death penalty.

Through this study, we aim to examine the presence of mental illness and intellectual disability among death row prisoners. An important component of the project is bringing forth narratives, through an interpretive and phenomenological lens,  on the lived experience of prisoners while on death row with a focus on mental health. The study also delves into the lifetime vulnerabilities of death row prisoners and adverse experiences that have marked their lives. We have interviewed over 90 death row prisoners and their families, across prisons in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Karnataka.

Mental Health and Undertrial Prisoners

Through this empirical study, we aim to understand the different mental health concerns, including intellectual disability, among undertrial prisoners, particularly among those who may have not been diagnosed before. To understand the lifetime history of mental illness, we will interview prisoners as well as their families. Given their low socio-economic status, it is likely that many prisoners who may have a lifetime history of mental disorder were never formally diagnosed. They are therefore prisoners who are most likely to fall through the gaps of care and treatment.

As part of this study, we will also interview other stakeholders in the criminal justice system, such as judges, prison officials, mental health professionals and lawyers. This will not only shed light on the nature of a prisoner’s interaction with not just the prison healthcare system, but also and crucially how mental disorders may be interfering with the fair trial rights of prisoners in the pre-trial stage, including during investigation.

Litigation

Through the course of our work on legal representation of death row prisoners, we have seen significant victories in our efforts to integrate mental health as a crucial aspect of death penalty jurisprudence in India. We have ensured that access to mental health professionals and social workers is recognised as a crucial part of effective legal representation of death row prisoners, and the recognition of post-conviction mental illness as a mitigating factor.

Capacity Building

Given the dearth of information as well as prejudices that exist with respect to accused persons and prisoners with mental disorders, we conduct training and workshops for various stakeholders in the criminal justice system, including prison officials, lawyers, judges as well as mental health professionals. In collaboration with the Delhi Judicial Academy we conducted a two- day training programme on forensic psychiatry and criminal law for Delhi trial court judges and lawyers and mental health professionals from across the country.

Some of our Material

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