{"id":147,"date":"2019-10-31T21:11:57","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T21:11:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prisonresearch.ch\/?page_id=147"},"modified":"2023-08-02T08:31:40","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T08:31:40","slug":"project-end-of-life-in-prison","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/prisonresearch.ch\/?page_id=147","title":{"rendered":"End-of-life in prison"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

End-of-life in prison: legal context, institutions and actors<\/strong>
\nPeople in prison are not free to choose how and where they die. This \nmeans that the issue of dying with dignity requires special attention in\n the prison setting. This study examines what it means to die in prison \nand what ethical, legal and security-related issues are important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Background
\n<\/strong>Under the law, persons in prison are supposed to have the same \naccess to medical care  as the rest of the population. The majority of \nthe issues and problems related to end-of-life in the general population\n are the same in the prison setting. But it must be considered that the \nconditions and processes connected with the end-of-life in prisons \npresent a number of hurdles. These make meeting the demands of care and \npain relief in the setting of incarceration and punishment more \ndifficult. What is more, Swiss prisons house a steadily growing number \nof older persons. Also, the trend is for stricter and longer sentences, \nas can be seen in changes in prison sentence practice and in the new \noption of the life sentence. This increases the number of persons who \nwill die in prison. Ongoing discussion about good dying and palliative \ncare shows that precisely those persons who cannot choose how and where \nthey die require special attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aim
\n<\/strong>Using ethnographic methods, case studies and legal analyses, \nthis study examines end-of-life issues from the perspective of different\n actors and at different institutional levels in the Swiss penitentiary \nsystem. The aim is to analyse the legal and institutional bases and \ncurrent practice in dealing with the end-of-life and dying in different \nprisons. Further, the research team will reconstruct specific cases from\n the perspective of the persons involved (inmates, family members, \nstaff, other institutional actors) and document emerging institutional \nsolutions and examples of good practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Significance
\n<\/strong>This study takes up a new and growing social problem. It deals \nwith institutional handling issues and good practice with regard to the \nend-of-life in the context of the Swiss penitentiary system and will \nthus serve the interests of both the practical and the research realm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original title: <\/strong>End-of-life in prison: legal context, institutions and actors<\/strong>Duration: 36 months Funding: CHF 302\u2019099 Project number: 406740_139296<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Project leaders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n