Solitary confinement has been around for centuries. Inmates are kept inside a cell that is approximately 80 square feet, smaller than a typical horse stable for 23 hours a day. In history, there have been different solitary confinements Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia, Newgate Prison in NYC, Auburn Prison in Western NY, Eastern State Penitentiary Philadelphia and Sing Sing (Biggs 1). Inmates are placed in these isolation units for many reasons, as punishment, protection or education. Is this the only way to use of solitary confinement on juveniles who made mistakes in their lives? Solitary Confinement shouldn’t be used for criminals, because it causes serious psychological consequences, self-injurious behavior, and anti-social behavior.
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For example, in one notorious study from the 1950s, University of Wisconsin psychologist Harry Harlow placed rhesus monkeys inside a custom-designed solitary chamber; “Twelve months of isolation almost obliterated the animals socially,” Harlow found ( Breslow 1). Another example is a man in front of the toilet tried to pee, but he couldn’t focus on that feeling. Monkeys and humans are similar, so if monkeys have mental problems, humans will have more effect, especially juveniles. “Young people’s brains are still developing, placing them at a higher risk of psychological harm when subjected to isolation,” Amy Fettig said( Fetting 1 ). This phenomenon of juvenile delinquency should remind adult to pay more attention to them rather than to punish them. Furthermore, Solitary confinement will bring some negative effects like substance abuse, mental illness and childhood trauma. If a person isn’t mentally ill when entering an isolation unit, by the time they are released, their mental health has been severely compromised. Particularly, some of the people in solitary confinement are teenagers, and their minds are still growing, trauma received will affect their growth. Some people say that solitary confinement is a punishment for criminals. In fact, it is a punishment, a mental punishment for criminals. Solitary confinement hurts prisoners and keeps them away from people. It is precisely because …show more content…
After people in prison feel hostility, their dissatisfaction might be taken into society, and they could have some anti-social behavior. More seriously, someone has Antisocial Personality Disorder Symptoms. Solitary life makes offenders become easier lying, impulsivity, irritability and irresponsibility, because they learned and did the same things in prisons. For instance, a man was sent to prison because of beating his wife, but after he released from prison his wife got more serious bullying from him. Another example is happening in my city, a witness report a driver who caused traffic accidents to the police. After two years, the driver left prison, then he killed the witness and her family. (Lee 1 ) Those two examples show us solitary confinement is a place where makes prisoners have Antisocial Personality Disorder Symptoms, and brings more dangerous to other people. In order to prevent our society has become more dangerous, we should stop the policy of solitary
For example, in one notorious study from the 1950s, University of Wisconsin psychologist Harry Harlow placed rhesus monkeys inside a custom-designed solitary chamber; “Twelve months of isolation almost obliterated the animals socially,” Harlow found ( Breslow 1). Another example is a man in front of the toilet tried to pee, but he couldn’t focus on that feeling. Monkeys and humans are similar, so if monkeys have mental problems, humans will have more effect, especially juveniles. “Young people’s brains are still developing, placing them at a higher risk of psychological harm when subjected to isolation,” Amy Fettig said( Fetting 1 ). This phenomenon of juvenile delinquency should remind adult to pay more attention to them rather than to punish them. Furthermore, Solitary confinement will bring some negative effects like substance abuse, mental illness and childhood trauma. If a person isn’t mentally ill when entering an isolation unit, by the time they are released, their mental health has been severely compromised. Particularly, some of the people in solitary confinement are teenagers, and their minds are still growing, trauma received will affect their growth. Some people say that solitary confinement is a punishment for criminals. In fact, it is a punishment, a mental punishment for criminals. Solitary confinement hurts prisoners and keeps them away from people. It is precisely because …show more content…
After people in prison feel hostility, their dissatisfaction might be taken into society, and they could have some anti-social behavior. More seriously, someone has Antisocial Personality Disorder Symptoms. Solitary life makes offenders become easier lying, impulsivity, irritability and irresponsibility, because they learned and did the same things in prisons. For instance, a man was sent to prison because of beating his wife, but after he released from prison his wife got more serious bullying from him. Another example is happening in my city, a witness report a driver who caused traffic accidents to the police. After two years, the driver left prison, then he killed the witness and her family. (Lee 1 ) Those two examples show us solitary confinement is a place where makes prisoners have Antisocial Personality Disorder Symptoms, and brings more dangerous to other people. In order to prevent our society has become more dangerous, we should stop the policy of solitary