Cut the rights short: Reflecting about suicides in Italian prisons and punitivism

Abstract

This paper focuses on the relation between the high rate of suicides and the condition of detention inside Italian prisons, showing that the gap between the prescription of article 27 of the Italian Constitution, namely “punishment must work for the rehabilitation of the condemned persons”, and reality is yet to be filled. The deterioration of prison conditions as major cause of suicides is analysed under three aspects: overcrowding; zero tolerance politics and the culture of control; and the nature of prison as a “total institution”, annihilating any quest for dignity, decent life or implementation of detainees’ rights. The present theoretical discussion is endorsed by some interviews made to a lawyer and three ex-inmates, who share in detail their experiences of the discriminatory and stigmatizing nature of prisons. Concluding remarks emphasize the need to reduce to the minimum the use of prisons to avoid the degradation of life conditions and suicides therein.