Pros And Cons Of Solitary Confinement

Many researchers have found that long periods of time in solitary confinement can have negative mental effects on inmates. This is due to long-term confinement because it consists of not only prolonged deprivation of social interaction but also sensory deprivation (Haney, 2003). Medical ethics are also in question about the effects of long term confinement. Medical professionals have to handle a particularly difficult situation because they are required to provide medical assistance to these inmates that may be facing psychological issues. This is a problem because medical professionals are aware that solitary confinement has negative effects on the well-being and mental state of these individuals (Shalev, 2011).

In article 5 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it states that, “[n]o one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” It states this, yet there are humans kept in cells smaller than the average size of a queen bed (Chan). How is this not considered an inhuman or degrading punishment? While the wellbeing of prisoners can be easily overlooked, that does not mean it is not an important issue. It is unhealthy for prisoners to be kept in solitary confinement for a prolonged period of time because it is bad for their mental health, discriminates against certain groups, and it is expensive.

Four concrete walls, a steel bed, and a sink to soak the unclean clothes in as well as an insignificantly compact restroom. Welcome to solitary confinement where the lights always stay on and there’s always room for just one, you. When we think about solitary confinement we probably think of a killer or rapist getting what they deserve. What we don’t see is another human life being psychologically destroyed. Some of these prisoners have been in solitary confinement from a couple of years to decades. It is true that these are not honorable or peace keeping men, but a human life being tortured by solitude is a torture no one deserves.

Solitary confinement has had a long history in the American prison system. America is the first country to adapt solitary confinement into the prison regiment. Pennsylvania had the first special housing units for inmates or “SHU”. When Europeans came to America to look at the new model for prisons in Pennsylvania they wrote reports describing to the European parliament on how prisoners were treated like caged animals. Many of them quickly realized that this was not what prisons were set out to accomplish. The purpose of a prison is to rehabilitate criminals and bring them back into society as an individual that has the best mental tools and skills to make their respective communities better. Putting inmates in solitary confinement for more than 48 hours can only lead to awful emotional pain and mental problems which can result in self-destructive behavior to regain the self-control that is being deprived through this process of isolation and expulsion.

While solitary confinement is one of the most effective ways of keeping todays prisoners from conflict and communication, it is also the most detrimental to their health. According to NPR the reason for most solitary confinement units in America “is to control the prison gangs (NPR, 2011).” But that is not always the case. Sometimes putting a gang member in solitary reduces the shock and awe effect that it is supposed to have, when they start losing their minds. The prisoners kept in solitary confinement show more psychotic symptoms than that of a normal prisoner, including a higher suicide rate. Once a prisoner’s mental capacity to understand why he is in prison and why he is being punished is gone, there is no reason to keep said

Finally, when prisoners leave solitary and re-enter the general prison population, their symptoms might decrease but they are usually unable to adjust. “It destroys one’s capacity to relate socially, to work, to play, to hold a job or enjoy life,” Terry Kupers, a psychiatrist, said. Solitary confinement can have long-lasting effects on an individual’s state of mind and physical body, which is

Margo Schlanger, who is a Professor of Law at the University of Michigan, and Amy Fettig, who is the Director of the ACLU National Prison Project, in their American Prospect publication, Eight Principles for Reforming Solitary Confinement, introduce a number of reform ideas regarding solitary confinement. First, prisoners should never be subjected to solitary confinement for a long period of time unless there is an evident threat regarding the safety and security of the prison. As stated before, many juveniles who committed suicide under confinement, were initially confined for committing nonthreatening behavior (Jessica Lee, 2016). Also, prisoners should be subjected to solitary confinement for the slightest time possible. It is already proven that long term solitary confinement has significant damaging results on an inmate’s psyche, and therefore inmates should be subjected to confinement for the least amount of time.

There are many inmates who are affected emotionally every day. When people commit a crime and go to prison they are still able to communicate with their fellow inmates and participate in physical functions. When depriving someone of their daily habits and routines you are changing their entire life. We as humans cannot function without our family and friends. People in solitary confinement are deprived of much more than family and friends. They are dehumanized, tortured, and punished beyond

A teenage boy named Kalief Browder was blamed for stealing a backpack, began awaiting trial at a prison, and was placed in and out of solitary confinement for two years. Four years later, while completing college, Browder killed himself (Obama). The majority of people believe that solitary confinement has harmful effects, such as suicide in Kalief Browder’s case. The controversy of solitary confinement used as a form of punishment has been around long before Browder’s events. Opponents use negative reactions and studies for their position, while supporters say that there are positives to solitary confinement, including keeping the public safe, and an improvement in the mental state of those put inside.

According to Vera Institute of Justice, studies have shown that the effects of long term solitary confinement have led to an inmate’s mental and physical distress. Moreover, the individual has no positive impact in returning to their respected communities. To remedy the issues of solitary confinement in our justice system, Vera Institute of Justice established a program, Safe Alternatives to Segregation (SAS) initiative of its Center on Sentencing and Corrections (CSC). SAS provides technical support to state and local correctional facilities, including help with data analysis, policies, and practices. Vera has worked alongside and supports the efforts of the correctional facilities in Massachusetts, Virginia and Colorado for implementing programs

To start with, solitary confinement can be very beneficial in the essence that it is serving as a punishment to inmates who violate the rules. A study

But the true problems comes when it comes to mental instability for humans are social animals and a lack of can lead to bad things . For instance “Prisoners subject to solitary confinement became violently insane; others committed suicide.” said the US Supreme court in 1890. Solitary confinement had been ruining people's minds for a long time for example in solitary confinement people tend to fall in depression, see many hallucination and forget how to tell time properly. But solitary confinement does protect the prisoners as stated before.

Since the early 1800s, the United States has relied on a method of punishment barely known to any other country, solitary confinement (Cole). Despite this method once being thought of as the breakthrough in the prison system, history has proved differently. Solitary confinement was once used in a short period of time to fix a prisoners behavior, but is now used as a long term method that shows to prove absolutely nothing. Spending 22-24 hours a day in a small room containing practically nothing has proved to fix nothing in a person except further insanity. One cannot rid himself of insanity in a room that causes them to go insane. Solitary confinement is a flawed and unnecessary method of punishment that should be prohibited in the prison

Solitary confinement is a big problem for criminals, for some end up being chronically ill, in which the criminal justice system should reform against this punishment. Research shows that “solitary confinement has been around since the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century”. It has been used for those who are imprisoned and break the rules inside. The little area you are put in called solitary confinement is locked down for 23 hours and you are only let out for a hour a day to have rec time and are able to shower, while inside “you do not have any reading materials, have no one to talk to, and are confined in a small space”. For many juveniles who are put in solitary confinement they

There are four goals when sending a criminal to prison or gets putting them on parole; they are retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, and rehabilitation. These goals are set in place to deprive a criminal of their freedom so that the criminal pays a debt to society. To remove a criminal from society so he or she can no longer do harm. To prevent the criminal and others people from any future crime or crimes. The last and most important goal is to attempt to help change the criminal into becoming a law abiding citizens. Two ways that are used to achieve these goals is solitary confinement and parole. Solitary confinement and parole have been very controversial today as it was in the past, and most likely this will continue to be controversial going into the future of corrections. Budgetary and managerial will also have an impact will also have an impact when dealing with solitary confinement and probation.