"It is doubtful whether the majority of prisoners with psychiatric illnesses in Germany receive appropriate care such as that mandated by the European Convention on Human Rights and other international charters. Major deficits in German inpatient psychiatric care of prisoners are the lack of facilities for treating those with chronic mental illnesses and the inadequate management of acutely psychotic or delirious prisoners, which in many places leads to temporary ´parking´ in isolated cells. Compared to psychiatric care outside of prison, the equivalence principle has failed as a fundamental guide in many places in Germany," Professor Dr. Norbert Konrad (Berlin) summarizes his contribution to the European Research Project "Mentally Disordered Persons in European Prison Systems".
