Solitary Confinement and the Effects on Inmates Essay

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.

Segregation, Disassociation, the SHU, the hole, the cooler, and many more are all prison terms describing solitary confinement. Chances are you have heard some or all of these terms watching TV shows and movies, but what does it mean for the people who actually spend large amounts of time on the inside. Many are against the use of solitary confinement and say that it has no place in the modern world. In pointing out the many negative side effects of solitary confinement, the positive side must be looked at as well. Certain parts of control require a path of discipline to keep order in a prison, so what happens when solitary confinement is no longer an option.

Solitary confinement is exactly what the name implies: complete isolation from human contact in a small, enclosed room. Inmates can be put in solitary confinement for various reasons such as breaking rules, fighting with other inmates, or as an attempt to protect that inmate. Various court cases have addressed solitary confinement in terms of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution. While the courts have not deemed solitary confinement unconstitutional, it has worked to limit the use of it as a punishment. Many studies have seen various side effects of solitary confinement, including hallucination, self-mutilation, suicide attempts, etc. These effects are seen in prisoners of all ages. Because this isolation is so detrimental,

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

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Solitary Confinement is the confinement of a prisoner in a cell or other place which he or she is completely isolated from any and everyone. Merriam Webster also states that even some prisoners are held from 22.5 to 24 hours a day. Solitary confinement is sometimes referred to as isolation, segregation, separation, and cellular confinements so that it seems different from solitary confinement or too make it sound like a less harsh punishment. Solitary Confinement is a huge controversy in today’s society, although some might of forgot due to the fact that there’s an orange oompa loompa celebrity as our president, but this has been a problem since it was introduced in 1829. “In 1829, the first experiment in solitary confinement was at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. It was based on a Quaker belief that prisoners isolated in stone cells with only a Bible would use the time to repent, pray and find introspection.”(Timeline on NPR.org) A large population of people believe that solitary confinement is a violation against anyone 's human rights. On the other side of this argument, some people believe it is a necessary form of punishment and that it does not violate anyone’s human or constitutional rights. In my personal opinion, Solitary confinement violates both the 8th Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article five of the Declaration of Human Rights. I don’t understand how isolating someone for that

The American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch created a report that described how placement in solitary confinement exacerbated the stresses of being in jail or prison. Many resort to harming themselves with staples or razors, having hallucinations, losing touch with reality and having thoughts of or attempting suicide – all this while having very limited access to health care. While some inmates are known to have psychiatric disorders prior to entering the prison, others develop mental disorders as a result of being placed in a solitary confinement. Psychological effects can include anxiety, depression, anger, cognitive disturbances, perceptual distortions, obsessive thoughts, paranoia and psychosis. Moreover, isolating prisoners who are known to have mental illnesses is that it prevents the inmates from ever possibly recovering.

Colorado has decreased its use of solitary confinement by 85 percent and the prisoner-on-staff assaults are the lowest they have been since 2006. Similar results

The United States claims that solitary confinement administers, “…the appropriate balance among prison security, public safety, cost efficiency, and prisoner welfare.” (Bennion, 2015) However, solitary confinement does not exactly take into consideration the welfare of a prisoner as they are sometimes kept in “windowless cement rooms with perimeters the size of a parking space or a king-sized bed for twenty-three hours a day. Their meals may be pushed through slots of large, solid metal doors.” (Bennion, 2015)

Solitary confinement can worsen both short and long term psychological and physical problems or make it more likely that such problems will develop. The American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch created a report that incorporated the testimony of some juvenile inmates. Many interviews described how their placement in solitary confinement exacerbated the stresses of being in jail or prison. Many spoke of harming themselves with staples or razors, having hallucinations, losing touch with reality, and having thoughts of or attempting suicide all this while having very limited access to health care.

An initial observation of the research on solitary confinement in the United States reveals that what is currently known about this practice is centered around how adults experience prolonged isolation, how adults react to solitary confinement as a form of discipline, “protection,” “treatment,” safety or security, and not how children and teenagers under the age of 18 years old experience this form of isolation. This Macro Project focuses first on identifying how children experience this extreme form of segregation and why it is a serious concern for this population. The reminder of this report concentrates on reviewing what evidence-based practices (EBP’s) and interventions exist for this population in an effort to curb and eliminate the use of solitary confinement. Next I recommend which

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 isn’t all it’s made out to be. Altho it is a punishment it’s a humane way of inmates serving out their time. Solitary confinement isn’t at all what people say it is, it teaches prisoners to behave, and it proves to be a safe environment for the inmates through a place called the ‘blue room’.

Sometimes described as a ‘prison within a prison’, a solitary cell is often no bigger than an averaged sized horse stable and in most cases, it’s only equipped with a toilet and a bed (Breslow, 2014). Furthermore, Breslow (2014) explains that if an individual is confined to a solitary cell, they will not mingle with any prisoner under any circumstances. Instead of eating in the prison cafeteria, their meal is delivered straight to their cell and it’s given through a slot in the door to minimise all contact and instead of getting yard time with their fellow inmates, the individual is usually subjected to only one hour of yard time alone. The effects that this [extreme isolation] has on one’s sanity differs from person to person, but the medical research that’s been done on the issue all ends with the same conclusion: solitary confinement can pose a great threat to one’s mental state and

Solitary confinement isn’t a punishment, it doesn’t reform a person- this is mental destruction, damaging the person whole. Conditions in isolation are cruel, no human interaction, no natural sunlight, no ventilation, and only one hour a day to get some exercise in a cage. Sudden outbursts from inmates pleading for better conditions and complaining about the feeling of breathlessness are normal and expected to happen at least once a

Colorado has taken action and has seen the lowest number of assaults against staff since 2006. New Mexico has implemented restrictions and has seen a drop in the number of inmates in solitary confinement, instead taking part in rehabilitation programs. Federal prisons have cut solitary confinement by approximately 25% since 2012 and has seen a significant drop in assaults against