Brain injury and prison

Over-representation, prevention and reform

Bibliographic Data

ID12517860
AuthorsMolly T O''Brien (0000-0002-1620-1793, Australian National University, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume28
Issue1
Pages1-20
Publication date2022-01-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAustralian Journal of Human Rights (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1323-238X • E-ISSN: 2573-573X
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1323238x.2022.2093462
OpenAlexW4285005725
LanguageEN
Citations received2

People who have suffered a brain injury are significantly over-represented in prisons around the world. Compared to the general population, people in prison are more than five times as likely to have had a brain injury. Brain injuries may have multiple ongoing symptoms which lead to the commission of criminal offences and to inadequate presentation of defences. Police, lawyers, judges and prison staff are largely unaware of an inmate’s brain injury status. The silence of this unrecognised epidemic frequently leads to insufficient treatment and unnecessary and inappropriate disciplinary action. From the perspective of having had a severe traumatic brain injury, I recommend more systematic inmate screening and revision of the training given to police, lawyers, judges and prison staff. People who deal with prisoners should be trained in how to identify and manage the deficits caused by brain injury. Human rights litigation may also be a tool to meet the needs of brain injured inmates. People with brain injuries should not be punished and forgotten

Commission · Criminology · Perspective (graphical · Political science · Population · Presentation (obstetrics · Prison · Psychiatry · Silence · Traumatic brain injury · Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation · Healthcare Decision-Making and Restraints · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Traumatic Brain Injury Research · Surgery

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