In my honest opinion solitary confinement in the U.S. is not justified and only does more harm than good. Not only is it a rash punishment, but it is one of the worst kinds of psychological tortures that could be inflicted upon an inmate. Human beings are undoubtedly social creatures and without the mere contact of another person the mind decays and ultimately leads a person to anger, anxiety, and hopelessness. Psychologists also claim that solitary confinement and isolation in general also cause depression or the loss of ability to have any "feelings", cognitive disturbances, such as confused thought processes and disorientation, perceptual distortions, such as hypersensitivity to noises and smells, distortions of sensations, and hallucinations affecting all five senses, as well as paranoia and psychosis which often times involve schizophrenic type symptoms, and finally, the worst of all symptoms, being self-harm such as self-mutilation, cutting and even suicide attempts. …show more content…
Some might argue that solitary confinement is actually effective and has its benefits, however this is not the case since this punishment only seems to make criminals much more dangerous when they leave prison than they were before and research shows that inmates who left solitary confinement experience increased anger and end up committing the kind of criminality that society is looking to prevent by using this method of punishment. Thus, solitary confinement ultimately fails as a rehabilitative measure, and as a way to "settle down" problematic
Inmates should be allowed to fight their stay in solitary confinement. Even throughout the prison system inmates still hold their Rights to be heard. A well-presented case against a stay in solitary confinement should be heard and it should also determine whether the inmate needs to continue being in solitary or not. Solitary confinement is effective but cruel at the same time, this can cause many problems such as lawsuits, possible deaths or mental illnesses from the prisoners who have stayed in solitary. The inmates who have stayed in solitary confinement have a right to appeal, just the same way these individuals have a right to appeal their conviction they can also appeal and fight against their stay in solitary confinement.
Major Ethical Issues of Solitary Confinement Solitary confinement can affect a person’s physical and mental health simply because it deprives an individual of their need to interact with others on a daily basis. Solitary confinement, which is used to restrain violent and volatile inmates from the general prison population, is done in increments ranging from several months to years. In an article retrieved from the American Psychological Association, ‘Alone, in ‘the Hole’’, the author states that, “for most of the 20th century, prisoners' stays in solitary confinement were relatively short.” This was the standing rule, in which inmates visited what is known as ‘the hole’, for several weeks to months. As time went by, the average length of stay
Solitary confinement has so many harsh conditions that negatively affect these prisoners. The practice of solitary confinement should be put to an end due to the long term damage it causes to one’s physical and mental health. The rooms that are used for solitary confinement are made very uniquely in order for these prisoners to feel trapped, isolated, and alone. They are put in dangerous conditions which may not look dangerous to the naked eye, but do actually damage these inmates. The prison cells that are used for solitary confinement are extremely concerning.
Solitary confinement should be abolished all across the United States because of the severe negative effects it has on prisoners. A negative effect of solitary confinement that can occur is that a prisoner can become depressed and suicidal. In a popular case in New York, a sixteen year old boy named Kalief Browder, spent over three years on Rikers Island without being convicted of a crime. After he was arrested in 2010, he spent more than 1,000 days in Rikers waiting for a trial that was never given to him.
Solitary confinement has been a crucial component of the American prison system since the appearance of jails in the early 1800’s. One main cricsticsm of solitary conferment has been that is causes the inmates increased psychological and sociological distress .Not only that but can in turn make the inmate more violent. The use of solitary confinement is highly profound in supermax prisons .
This shows that people held in solitary confinement are more likely to develop a worse mindset after solitary confinement than when they came into solitary confinement. It also shows that solitary confinement makes a major impact on the lives of human beings, it could kill people. Another detail from the text states, “ Those who do make it out
First you hate them, then you get used to them. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That 's institutionalized.’ A prison should aim at retribution, incapacitation, deterrence and rehabilitation. I am very well convinced that prison has served its first three purposes by depriving offenders’ freedom, but the
However, the United States has one of the best rehabilitation techniques and facilities in the world. Rehabilitation is the aspect of the United States correctional system that keeps it from being completely looked down on. One of the main issues when it comes to the prison and correctional system is the living conditions, according to an article on “Kicker”,”How the prison system is failing”, the living conditions are described as poor and inhumane. These living conditions also lead to serious incapacitation, which means there is not enough space for newly convicted criminals to fit inside the prisons.
How is this considered rehabilitative? Many people say that if someone is put in solitary, they probably deserved it, or that it helps with the violence levels in prison. What they don’t know is that it can be used as punishment for almost anything, and it doesn’t actually decrease the violence levels in jail (Gawande). Instead, it creates catastrophic results. “More than 50 percent of suicides in juvenile facilities were committed by youth being held in isolation…” (Gawande).
Hence, in the event that an inmate has past experiences or is highly prone to depression, major segregation such as solitary confinement will make them more so. Proper functioning of the brain depends on daily sun introduction, potentially clarifying some of the symptoms experienced by prisoners in isolation, many of whom rarely see the Sun (Bardale).
I think one of the main goals of incarceration should be rehabilitation. This is why I am against solitary confinement because seg is not rehabilitating these inmates and even worsens them in some cases. Rehabilitation is supposed to be helping restore health and goodness into a life and essentially teaching an individual how to act properly in society. Solitary confinement is doing the opposite by isolating individuals so they lose social skills, develop mental health issues, and even make some individuals more angry, violent, or harmful because they are deprived of needs. Deterrence is also something I think solitary confinement doesn’t necessarily help with.
Research has proven that solitary confinement is not healthy for anyone who is suffering from mental illness. There needs to be a better solution or way to help these
In Atul Gawande “ HellHole” essay they talked about the experiences and effects of people who were previously in solitary confinement. Solitary confinement can be best explained as the process of removing an individual and isolating them from their environment and socialization. Atul Gawande is specifically talking about prisoners of war and incarcerated people and how their experience was and that process. The essay talked about how people are put in isolation which caused them to act out of their character. Goffman would argue that effects of solitary confinement are exactly what total institutions can do to a person's.
It also provides support for those who believe solitary confinement should not be a punishment in jail. It has
Custody sentences are for punishment, rehabilitation and education, however, there are different views to youth imprisonment. Some critics say if you commit a crime you should take responsibility and jail will give you a ‘short sharp shock’ and you will receive rehabilitation. Whilst some say it is damaging to children and would lead to further reoffending once they are out due to learning crimes off other criminals. Evidence does suggest that children who have more than one risk factor present are more than likely to be involved in criminal activities (Hopkins Burke, 2016 p. 232). There are three penal institutions sometimes called secure estates - local authority secure children's homes, secure training centres and young offender’s institutes.