[Opinionating in cases of assessing the subject's ability to undergo imprisonment in materials collected by the Department of Forensic Medicine in Bydgoszcz in the years 1998-2003]. / Opiniowanie w sprawach dotyczacych oceny zdolnosci do przebywania w warunkach pozbawienia wolnosci w materialach Katedry i Zakladu Medycyny Sadowej w Bydgoszczy w latach 1998-2003.

Estimating the subject's ability to undergo imprisonment and determining whether there are any reasons for delaying or interrupting the execution of the penalty has become a serious problem. Currently, the Polish system lacks clear and uniform opinionating criteria, and the available sources provide only general guidelines. The present report outlines the legal criteria in force in such cases and describes the opinionating criteria used in the Department of Forensic Medicine in Bydgoszcz. The authors have also conducted an analysis of 87 opinions issued at the Department in the years 1998-2003 that evaluated the subject's ability to undergo imprisonment. The most frequent reasons for an individual seeking recognition as being unable to undergo imprisonment were as follows: internal diseases (41), neurological diseases (38), mental disorders (28), orthopedic problems (10) and other types of diseases in isolated cases. In nine instances, the subjects' health status was deemed to constitute a contraindication for imprisonment or detention. In 13 cases, in which the subject's files included an opinion previously formulated by a clinician and stating that the given individual was unable to undergo imprisonment, an analysis of the available medical records, as well as a thorough examination of the patient proved that there were no reasons that would contraindicate imprisonment.