Carcere e salute. Voci fioche di persone detenute

The paper deals, through a sociological approach, the delicate problem of health of inmates in Italian prisons, representing an act of explicit accusations against the prison system as it is today in Italy. After introducing the themes of social inequalities in health, and having framed the right to health also from a legal point of view, we present the results of a qualitative research conducted in prisons in three Italian regions (Campania, Lazio, Emilia Romagna) on a significant sample of inmates with chronic diseases. The survey refers to persons detained who are living an existential condition that limits not only their freedom, but also is the result of chronic diseases that disrupt relations and future prospects, up to denote them as “prisoners-none”, a piece of the population for which the prison serves as a mere “social vacuum”, often with no way out and no real prospects.