An Example Of Dehumanization In Piper Jones By Edith Wharton

Many times in the book, Piper Kerman shares her frustration about the dehumanization that occurs in her prison and how the justice system is organized. Kerman was indicted on charges of drug smuggling and money laundering. A conspiracy charge accuses a group of people plotting to commit a crime. The accused are usually brought to court by someone who has exposed their criminal acts in exchange for immunity. Under a conspiracy charge, the defendant is sentenced for the total amount of drugs and crime involved in an operation, not for their own role in it, whether small or big. Even if Kerman were to expose all of the people in her operation, she still had to serve the minimum sentence. Federal judges are imposed to set sentences for drug crimes, …show more content…
There is only one psychiatric evaluator for the fourteen hundred women in the prison. For a lot of people, being put into a new setting and having to adjust to a new way of life can cause a lot of stress, especially when having to be away from your family. In the memoir Kerman states, “Dr. Kirk sheepishly informed us that he was in the camp for a few hours each Thursday and that he couldn’t really supply any mental health services unless it was ‘an emergency’. He was the only provider of psychiatric care for the fourteen hundred women in the Danbury Complex.”(53) It is amazing that the prison doesn’t believe that women can have real emotional problems, nor do they have enough psychologists to help them change, or grow. In addition, even after being put into the “SHU,” the solitary confinement, the women still aren 't evaluated. Even though there are many studies that show that isolation causes mental …show more content…
Many times Kerman states that sometimes the guards take advantage of searching the inmates and “pat downs.” Also, guards can sexually harass inmates at any time, and all they have to do is threaten them with sending them to the “SHU” or reminding them how little their words mean as criminals. For example, Kerman’s boss, DeSimons, used derogatory terms to show her directions such as, “Now grab that tub of lube . . .you’re going to need a lot, Kermit . . .That’s gonna need a lot of squeeze in there, Kermit. Lube it up real good . . .Oooh horse cock. You like that horse cock, don’t you, Kermit.”(172) This is a clear demonstration of sexual harassment. Many of the women in the scene, just ignored it and acted as if nothing had happened. It is evident that women can not even go to work for without being treated like sexual objects, also by men that are placed there by the