SAÚDE MENTAL E PRIVAÇÃO DE LIBERDADE: OS DÉFICITS NO ACESSO AO PLENO DIREITO À SAÚDE NO SISTEMA PRISIONAL BRASILEIRO

Abstract

This paper analyzes the deficits in access to the right to mental health care in the Brazilian prison system, based on the understanding that deprivation of liberty does not remove incarcerated individuals’ entitlement to fundamental rights. The research examines the tension between the State’s punitive power and the protection of human dignity, especially in view of prison conditions marked by overcrowding, structural precariousness, institutional violence, isolation, and insufficient psychosocial assistance. Through a qualitative, bibliographic, and documentary approach, the study analyzes national and international legal norms, legal doctrine, institutional data, and academic studies on mental health in prisons. It demonstrates that, although there are relevant protective instruments, such as the Nelson Mandela Rules, the Brazilian Federal Constitution, the Criminal Enforcement Law, Law No. 10,216/2001, the PNAISP, and CNJ Resolution No. 487/2023, their enforcement remains limited. The study concludes that the Brazilian prison system operates as an environment capable of producing and aggravating psychological suffering, requiring integrated public policies compatible with human dignity.