Prison is a place no one willingly wishes to be in. Although many people do enter into this world, few actually tell their tale to the public. Stephen Reid is a criminal; a stone cold gang member and bank robbing criminal. He is also a father, devoted husband, friend and a writer. For those of us who have never been on the inside, Reid tells a story in his book A Crowbar in the Buddhist Garden of how he was sentenced to many years in a maximum security prison and what life in prison is actually like. In addition to this, he also describes his childhood. Reid grew up very differently than most people. At a very young age he was already a drug addict and had moved across the country by himself. It was not the life he chose for himself, and he
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When he was sixteen, he spent Christmas in a solitary cell, and many times after that. Segregation is a sad a lonely place for prisoners. It can be described as a prison within a prison where inmates are kept isolated and detached from any human contact. It is used as a form of punishment and sadly many prisoners are being kept in solitary confinement for very long periods at a time. It is known that penitentiaries are a place to house those who are mentally ill. More than one third of inmates have some sort of mental illness (Makin, 2011). This can range from depression to psychopathy. When placed in situations such as prison, these mental illnesses begin to increase and aggravate the individual. In order to control these types of inmates, they are usually placed in solitary confinement. More than half of suicides that occur in jails happen in solitary confinement. Even those who do not originally have a mental disorder, usually come out of solitary with one. An investigation led by Stuart Grassian into the psychiatric effects of solitary confinement, found that inmates who are in segregated for long periods of time usually come out with hypersensitivity to sound and external stimuli, experience hallucinations, distortions and illusions, as well as have trouble with concentration and memory (1983). So if you are not going into solitary confinement with a mental illness, then you are sure to come out with
When he was sixteen, he spent Christmas in a solitary cell, and many times after that. Segregation is a sad a lonely place for prisoners. It can be described as a prison within a prison where inmates are kept isolated and detached from any human contact. It is used as a form of punishment and sadly many prisoners are being kept in solitary confinement for very long periods at a time. It is known that penitentiaries are a place to house those who are mentally ill. More than one third of inmates have some sort of mental illness (Makin, 2011). This can range from depression to psychopathy. When placed in situations such as prison, these mental illnesses begin to increase and aggravate the individual. In order to control these types of inmates, they are usually placed in solitary confinement. More than half of suicides that occur in jails happen in solitary confinement. Even those who do not originally have a mental disorder, usually come out of solitary with one. An investigation led by Stuart Grassian into the psychiatric effects of solitary confinement, found that inmates who are in segregated for long periods of time usually come out with hypersensitivity to sound and external stimuli, experience hallucinations, distortions and illusions, as well as have trouble with concentration and memory (1983). So if you are not going into solitary confinement with a mental illness, then you are sure to come out with