The relevance of neuropsychology for social rehabilitation: A human rights perspective

It is generally accepted that prison sentences serve multiple distinctive objectives, such as retribution, crime prevention, and rehabilitation. Nowadays, the emphasis in European penal policy is on social rehabilitation. However, whether imprisonment is a suitable instrument to further the social rehabilitation of offenders has been subject to debate. Remarkably, recent neuropsychological research provides critical evidence that current prison methods and environments produce pejorative neurocognitive effects in individuals. Two recent studies, respectively in a U.S. and a Dutch prison, have indicated that the brain functions connected with self-regulation decline after three to four months of imprisonment. These and other studies hypothesise that such decline is a result of impoverished prison environments, where few physical, mental and social activities are available. Reduced self-regulation is a well-known risk factor for antisocial conduct. As such, this type of cognitive dysfunction risks compromising positive change in individuals in view of their successful reintegration as returning citizens. Embracing a consequentialist perspective, the present chapter discusses how neuropsychological knowledge can inform the relationship between incarceration and social rehabilitation under European and international human rights legislations. Notably, it discusses how such knowledge can be relevant to raise violations of the right to mental integrity of people in prison; to contribute to establishing the compatibility of prison conditions with the thresholds of dignity and humanity established in Art. 3 ECHR jurisprudence; and, ultimately, to strengthening the positive obligation of states to ensure the social rehabilitation of people in prison in view of their successful reentry into society as law-abiding citizens.