Criteria for the application of safety measures to people with mental illness, before a peculiar legal perspective

Abstract

This article aims to analyze whether the problem of legal and appropriate punishment for cases of agents affected by mental illness, in its various degrees, manifests individual resolution to each complex case, aiming at social security. The methodology adopted in this work is qualitative and the method of approach is deductive attached to the bibliographic review, in view of the most common forms of mental illness (schizophrenia, psychopathy, mental retardation and fanaticism) and the imputability or corresponding safety measure. The definition of the aforementioned disorders is explored in order to exemplify which judicial decisions are attributed to different conditions. It should be noted that the discussion about the demarcation of limits regarding the attribution of crimes by people with mental illnesses requires a broad view and a careful review at an interdisciplinary level, especially with regard to the role of forensic psychiatry. It is concluded, through this study, that the areas of Brazilian law, such as criminal law and psychology and psychiatry, are essential to designate security measures, highlighting the attention to alternative treatments, capable of remedying the most basic demands that can avoid advanced conditions, thus contributing to the ease of dealing in the social and legal spheres.