Loi et santé mentale : évolutions récentes, entre contrainte et consentement. Un cas particulier : quel choix en milieu pénitentiaire ?

In France, psychiatric care in prisons has been entrusted since 1985 to the Ministry of Health alone. Various pieces of legislation stipulate that the care of detainees in the prison can only be done with the express consent of the person concerned. Yet the reality on the ground is different and we are witnessing practices that are both illegal and unethical. The following text clarifies the legislative context and illustrates the drift of some doctors who act as if they had been contaminated by the prison mission.