DEATHWORTHY: A MENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVE OF THE DEATH PENALTY

A first of its kind report, Deathworthy, presents empirical data on mental illness and intellectual disability among death row prisoners in India and the psychological consequences of living on death row. The report finds that an overwhelming majority of death row prisoners interviewed (62.2%) had a mental illness and 11% had intellectual disability. The proportion of persons with mental illness and intellectual disability on death row is overwhelmingly higher than the proportion in the community population. The report also establishes correlations between conditions of death row incarceration and mental illness and ill-health. Led and conceptualised by Maitreyi Misra (Head, Mental Health and Criminal Justice, Project 39A, National Law University Delhi), the study was conducted under the guidance of Dr. Pratima Murthy (Director, NIMHANS), Dr Sanjeev Jain (Senior Professor, Deptt of Psychiatry, NIMHANS) and Dr Gitanjali Narayanan (Associate Professor, Deptt of Psychology, NIMHANS).

THE REPORT CAN BE ACCESSED HERE.

Vulnerabilities And The Social Reality Of Death Row Prisoners

The negative life experiences of the prisoners have been considered under two categories:

(a) adverse childhood experiences (ACE), and
(b) traumatic life experiences.

Among the 88 prisoners interviewed, the cascading effect of poverty was clear. 46 prisoners were physically or verbally abused as children, 64 were neglected, and 73 prisoners grew up in disturbed family environments. 46 prisoners had less than 10 years of education, 28 had early onset of substance abuse. 73 prisoners had experienced 3 or more adverse experiences.

A positive significant association was found between childhood abuse (verbal and physical) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) among the prisoners. 20 out of the 30 prisoners with MDD, reported having been subjected to abuse in childhood. A positive significant association was also found between Substance Use Disorder  and low educational attainment. 16 out of the 18 prisoners with Substance Use Disorder had less than 10 years of formal education.

56 prisoners experienced three or more potentially traumatic experiences (natural disasters, physical abuse, accidents). Prisoners who were diagnosed with a current episode of Major Depressive Disorder reported experiencing more traumatic life events than those who were not diagnosed. 

Psychiatric concerns on death row

51 death row prisoners (62.2%) were diagnosed with at least one mental illness. 35.3% were diagnosed with MDD (the proportion of prisoners with MDD is approximately 11 times higher than that in the community population), 22.6% were diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (the figures for the community population fall between 2-9%). 20.5% were diagnosed with Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Despite the restriction on the availability of substances, the figures are only slightly lower than the proportion of persons with SUD in the community (22.4%) highlighting the gravity of the problem. There is a positive significant association between SUD and time spent in prison and on death row. 6.8% screened positive for psychosis.

34 (over 50%) out of the 63 prisoners who volunteered information on suicidal behaviour and ideation spoke about contemplating suicide at least once in prison. 8 prisoners had attempted suicide in prison. These numbers and proportion are alarmingly high when compared to the proportion of those at high risk of suicide among the general prison population (4-6%) and in the community (0.9%). 94.1% of the prisoners at risk of suicide, also reported death row distress.

Intellectual disability and the death penalty

9 out of 83 death row prisoners (approximately 11%) were diagnosed with intellectual disability (ID) Of the 9, the mercy petition of 3 prisoners had also been rejected. Over 75% prisoners were found to have deficits in intellectual functioning. While international law prohibits imposition of the death sentence on persons with mental disabilities, in the case of these nine prisoners, their disability was not even brought to the attention of the courts.

Pains of death row

Death row prisoners are treated as a separate class of prisoners and, more often than not, the violence and alienation are directly linked to their belonging to this separate class-“the living dead”. The study found that vilification in and outside the prison, particularly the media, conditions of death row incarceration, non-suicidal self injury and suicide, and death row distress comprised pains of death row and the mental and emotional agony of death row. 60% of the prisoners interviewed for the study are not on death row anymore, and went through this pain, if we consider pain as the purpose of the death penalty, needlessly.

Families of death row prisoners

Death row prisoners are not the only ones who go through this agony on a daily basis. Families of death row prisoners go through this punishment as well, who are assumed to be guilty by association. While the accused faces horrors of a different kind, families, particularly children, are left behind to face the wrath and collective condemnation of their immediate community and society. Not knowing whether their loved one is going to live or die, families deal with this ‘ambiguous loss’ without being able to grieve openly because who, after all, would mourn the loss of a death row prisoner. Their ‘disenfranchised grief’ remains unexpressed and unvalidated.

Mental health concerns among prisoners acquitted or whose sentences were commuted

Of the 88 prisoners who were interviewed, 19 were ultimately acquitted and the sentence of 33 prisoners were commuted to various terms of life imprisonment. 13 out of the 19 prisoners who are now acquitted were diagnosed with at least one mental illness, three had attempted suicide in prison. Of the 30 prisoners diagnosed with depression, 17 are now no more on death row. Of the 34 prisoners who had been at risk of suicide, 20 are not on death row anymore. Half of those who were actively contemplating suicide around the time of the interview are not on death row anymore.