Summary Of Solitary Nation
In the documentary Solitary Nation, Adam (inmate in the Maine State Prison), was sent into an isolation cell after starting a riot. At first, he came out as a strong-minded man but it only took 25 days before his mental health started to diminish. Adam is one of the few inmates who wants to get better and fights for a chance to get his GED so he can have something good for when he is released. He finally gains the privilege to get out of his cell to study, but he starts a riot with the other prisoners (Edge et al). Adam is an example of how being isolated leads to not being able to function properly when given the opportunity to interact with other people. Peter Gibbs, another inmate in the Solitary Nation documentary, has been in and out …show more content…
Under article 8 of the Bill of Human Rights it states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted (The Eighth Amendment).” Placing a mentally ill inmate inside four walls away from any social interaction and medical attention is in fact cruel. As said by a federal judge, putting a mentally ill person in segregation is the “equivalent of putting an asthmatic in a place with little air to breathe (Wallace 11).” A mentally ill person needs help, not a poor environment in which they won’t get any better. Not only does solitary confinement mess with the mind, but it inflicts inmates to self-harm in any way possible. According to Bassett, 50% of suicides occur inside solitary confinmenet (419). Not to mention, inmates are sometimes physically abused by the guards in power. Through the Solitary Nation documentary, it is seen that guards sometimes have to use bigger forces like a toxic gas to get an inmate out of their cell. While it makes sense that guards have to do it for their own protection, there needs to be thought about why inmates do the things they do. When inmates suffer from their mental illnesses, they begin to lose their sense of reality as well as sense of right and wrong. It is not valid to say that these mentally ill people act out because they want to
Should Inmates Be Allowed To Stay In Solitary Confinement?
140 Words | 1 PagesInmates 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.
Was Anthony Graves Insane
2707 Words | 11 PagesGraves recalled that he remembers hearing loud piercing screams from inmates losing their minds and the feeling of isolation can dehumanize themselves. A person will eventually completely lose their emotions and become a shell of a person they once was. Graves noted, that there should be a reform on how solitary confinement should addressed when there is a need to separate a dangerous prisoner from the general population. He believes that there should be a system of policies and regulations that should be carried out in court before putting an inmate into solitary confinement. He claims that the majority of inmates in solitary confinement observes their lives is hopeless and
Why Is Solitary Confinement Ethically Wrong
638 Words | 3 PagesMajor 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
Pros And Cons Of Solitary Confinement
1065 Words | 5 PagesIt’s Just Punishment One of the first arguments supporting solitary confinement is the idea of punishment. When prisoners misbehave while serving their sentence, they may be put into solitary confinement so as to be punished for this misbehavior. This activity may include fighting, gang violence, or even drug affiliation. Many believe that this solitary confinement will aid in the reformation of the prisoner’s character, by allowing them time to reflect on their actions, or moreover, it is the best option available when no other form of punishment is successful.
Confederate Memorial Day Essay
828 Words | 4 PagesAnother issue that the American prison systems were facing was their constant practice of locking away mentally ill individuals to very long prison sentences that only seriously worsened their conditions, and even made their chances of overcoming mental illness, nearly impossible. Even medications that were prescribed to these individuals made them suffer serious and sometimes even worse, side effects. Although some states banned the high rates of mentally ill individuals to prisons, this only meant they were more targeted and thrown in jail for petty offenses by police. Many prisons do not have the resources, nor the skills needed to adequately and appropriately care for the mentally ill, therefore many of them suffer and even die from this
Solitary Confinement In Federal Prisons
880 Words | 4 PagesIf we ever hope to come together and promote equality as a society, how must we do so if we suppress the needs of those with suppressed rights? To amend the issues that we have created, there must be stricter regulations around solitary confinement as it is a cause of unnecessary suicides, robs citizens of their basic rights, and brings down our intersectionality as a collective society here in Canada. Lately, the number of solitary confinement prompted suicides have skyrocketed, and have been on a steep incline for nine years, with no plans for amendment. A study at Cambridge University has determined that 63% of suicides in federal prisons take place while the inmate is in solitary confinement. "Shalev, Sharon, A Sourcebook on Solitary Confinement (2008)."
In Solitary Confinement Is Overused In Our Prisons, By Barack Obama
839 Words | 4 PagesThis 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
Solitary Confinement Is Cruel
245 Words | 1 PagesI agree with the International New York Times editorial staff “Editorial: Solitary Confinement Is Cruel and All Too Common” because the authors states statistics and facts about the outcome of inmates held in solitary for too long. While I understand that this measure is set to punish those who commit cries in society, incarceration should not be longer than a few year I agree with The editorial boards opinion, " Prisoners who have been held for 10 or more years will be moved to a special restricted unit with other inmates, where they can take educational courses and have normal human contact as they prepare to return to the general population." Therefore Incarcerating someone for years isolated in cell with a small window with no human
Solitary Confinement Research Paper
297 Words | 2 Pagesolitary confinement, in 40 states have super-maximum security (“supermax”) facilities specifically used to hold people in long-term confinement. States such as Colorado consistently uses excessive confinement that dehumanize one’s well-being. The inmates are basically put in cages and they don’t really have the freedom to have any free time. They have a 15 minute shower three times a week. “ Mental Health clinicians visited at least once a month, and a librarian delivered books and magazines once a week.
Solitary Confinement Benefits
353 Words | 2 PagesIn 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.
Solitary Confinement Punishment
141 Words | 1 PagesScientific perspective, this is a really scary psychological torture methods right between modern times. Unlike other measures to detention, solitary confinement does not directly cause physical pain that destructive spirit, awareness of prisoners, making them gradually want to be dead. Besides unhygienic condition in solitary confinement chambers, which can threaten the health of such prisoners
Criminal Justice Suicides
462 Words | 2 PagesSuicides and the Criminal Justice System The reason why there is an elevated rate of suicides in the criminal justice system, particularly in jails and prisons is probably because the incarcerated population is dealing with some major stressors. Among the stressors documented or recognized, it has been observed that these people usually deal with: a “loss of liberty”, a high degree of “enforced structure and discipline”, “overcrowding” and a “dirty, depressed and aggressive environment”; in addition to “poor diet”, “feeling of guilt and shame”. What make the situation worse, are a power differential between incarcerated individuals and institutional staffs, and an uncertain future.
Mental Illness In Correctional Facilities
475 Words | 2 PagesThere are so many mentally ill people in correctional facilities because most families do not know how to help their loves ones who suffer from a mental illness, so the call the police for help. Majority of the police officers do not know what to do or how to handle people with a mental illness disease. Police officers who are not trained to deal with the mentally ill often do not recognize that person is ill. Some police officers do not recognize if the individual should or not go to jail or a treatment center or medical facility. The impact of law enforcement and the judicial system dealing with people with a mental illness is to assist the inmates with the help they need.
Solitary Confinement In Juvenile Detention Facilities
626 Words | 3 PagesExperts conclude this practice is both widespread and underreported. Staff use solitary confinement as a security management tool; until more effective solutions are available and implemented, youth will continue to experience substantial negative repercussions of being confined in a solitary cell. Facility staff need effective and easily-implementable alternatives they can use. Some of the psychological distress from spending time in confinement can lead to instances of self-harm, suicide,
The Importance Of Solitary Confinement
49 Words | 1 PagesShould solitary confinement be abolished for prisoners? Solitary confinement shouldn 't be abolished because it has been here for a long time it is used for prisoners prisoners who commit devastating crimes and who put other people lives in danger these inmates are put in these facilities for many
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