Granzow B, Püschel K
Institut für Rechtsmedizin, Universität Hamburg.
Arch Kriminol. 1998 Jan-Feb;201(1-2):1-10.
In this study, 275 fatalities in Hamburg's prisons from 1962 to 1995 have been evaluated retrospectively. 57% unnatural causes of death have been found. These included 120 suicides, 21 drug-related deaths and 6 homicides. Suicides are committed primarily by socially desintegrated prisoners with some experienced time of custody and the expectation of another, longer period of arrest. The preferred method is hanging. Mostly the motivation to suicide is due to the situation in prison as such. It cannot be stated that the staff had neglected the suicidal tendency of the imprisoned. Compared with other regions, the number of suicides lies in average bounds and remained constant over the years, with about 138/100,000. The "Law of Imprisonment"/"Strafvollzugsgesetz" (1977) did not recognizably influence the number of suicides. Especially in the last years violent acts with succeeding death increased, but the absolute numbers are very low. Since 1989 a series of drug-related deaths occurred; among these there were no imprisoned being substituted with methadone up to 1995. Although one must regret every single case of death in prison, this study has shown in general that the circumstances in Hamburg have to be assessed by far less critical than it has been done occasionally with single cases in the public discussion.
在本研究中，对1962年至1995年汉堡监狱中的275例死亡案例进行了回顾性评估。发现57%的死亡原因是非自然原因。其中包括120例自杀、21例与毒品相关的死亡和6例他杀。自杀主要由社会解体的囚犯实施，他们有一定的羁押经历且预期会有更长时间的监禁。首选方式是上吊。自杀动机大多源于监狱本身的状况。不能说工作人员忽视了被监禁者的自杀倾向。与其他地区相比，自杀人数处于平均水平且多年来保持稳定，约为138/10万。《监禁法》/《刑罚执行法》（1977年）对自杀人数没有明显影响。特别是在最近几年，暴力行为导致死亡的情况有所增加，但绝对数字非常低。自1989年以来发生了一系列与毒品相关的死亡事件；其中在1995年之前没有服用美沙酮替代治疗的被监禁者。虽然必须对监狱中的每一例死亡感到遗憾，但本研究总体表明，与公众讨论中偶尔对个别案例的评判相比，汉堡监狱的情况远没有那么严重。
