This article analyzes the effects of the psychiatrization of madness in the discourse of judicial authorities in decisions in response to flagrant offences committed by people with mental disorders during custody hearings (CHs) in a Brazilian state. We conducted a qualitative study involving five in-depth interviews with judges analyzed from the perspective of Foucauldian discourse analysis. The results are described in two core areas: the psychiatrization of the custody hearing - mad people deprived of their liberty; and problematizing risk as a device of capture and deprivation of liberty. We concluded that, although custody hearings were supposedly created as a device for guaranteeing liberty, the participants’ discourses present ideas of madness as risk, justifying imprisonment.
Keywords
Madness; Custody hearing; Mental health; Public health; Psychiatrization