Solitary confinement is the defined as “a punishment program requiring isolation of an inmate in a cell” (Allen et al., 2016). It is a punishment within a prison that attempts to punish institutional rule violations and “protect” prisoners that are unsafe to stay among the general population. Solitary confinement is used frequently in the American justice system to punish and control inmate behavior if it doesn’t meet the expectations of the institution in which they are incarcerated. The question must be asked then – does solitary confinement work to reform prisoner’s behaviors and what are the effects of enforced isolation on a prisoner’s mental and physical constitution? As the use of solitary confinement in prisons across America has
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The data found in the research shows very clearly that solitary confinement, as it is being used, is damaging, ineffective, and excessively harsh in nature and in order to be applied effectively and safely, major reform is needed. Available data suggests that approximately 84,000 of the United States’ 2.3 million inmates are in some form of solitary confinement (Cloud et al., 2015). This means that about 4% of U.S. inmates are being held in isolative conditions away from human contact, confined to a small cell for the vast majority of the day, with no way to stimulate their thinking or their senses. There are three different names and purposes for solitary confinement. “Disciplinary segregation” is used as a punishment for violating the prison rules, “administrative segregation” is used for controlling or separating out potential problem inmates, such as gang members, and “protective custody” is used to keep inmates out of the …show more content…
While these types of prisoners are often housed in isolation, an alarming number of mentally ill offenders are also placed there for relatively minor violations. Some data shows that roughly one fifth to two thirds of solitary inmates have a form of mental illness (Steinbuch, 2014). In a study conducted in Washington, the data showed that mentally ill inmates were upwards of four times more likely to have been held in solitary confinement. Furthermore, in Arizona’s super-max prison, 26% of the inmates in solitary had a mental illness according to a study conducted by the American Friends Service Committee. The AFSC commented that the numbers showed the number of prisoners being locked up for behaviors that were a result of their illnesses. Instead of providing treatment for mental illness symptoms, they are punished for bad behavior and often face indeterminate stays in solitary (Gordon, 2015). In a report by the Vera Institute of Justice, they found that prisoners were being subjected to solitary confinement for minor infractions such as not standing for a count, using offensive language, talking back to correctional officers, and failure to obey an order. These inmates made up 85% percent of inmates in solitary confinement in Illinois and Pennsylvania (Schlanger & Fettig,
The data found in the research shows very clearly that solitary confinement, as it is being used, is damaging, ineffective, and excessively harsh in nature and in order to be applied effectively and safely, major reform is needed. Available data suggests that approximately 84,000 of the United States’ 2.3 million inmates are in some form of solitary confinement (Cloud et al., 2015). This means that about 4% of U.S. inmates are being held in isolative conditions away from human contact, confined to a small cell for the vast majority of the day, with no way to stimulate their thinking or their senses. There are three different names and purposes for solitary confinement. “Disciplinary segregation” is used as a punishment for violating the prison rules, “administrative segregation” is used for controlling or separating out potential problem inmates, such as gang members, and “protective custody” is used to keep inmates out of the …show more content…
While these types of prisoners are often housed in isolation, an alarming number of mentally ill offenders are also placed there for relatively minor violations. Some data shows that roughly one fifth to two thirds of solitary inmates have a form of mental illness (Steinbuch, 2014). In a study conducted in Washington, the data showed that mentally ill inmates were upwards of four times more likely to have been held in solitary confinement. Furthermore, in Arizona’s super-max prison, 26% of the inmates in solitary had a mental illness according to a study conducted by the American Friends Service Committee. The AFSC commented that the numbers showed the number of prisoners being locked up for behaviors that were a result of their illnesses. Instead of providing treatment for mental illness symptoms, they are punished for bad behavior and often face indeterminate stays in solitary (Gordon, 2015). In a report by the Vera Institute of Justice, they found that prisoners were being subjected to solitary confinement for minor infractions such as not standing for a count, using offensive language, talking back to correctional officers, and failure to obey an order. These inmates made up 85% percent of inmates in solitary confinement in Illinois and Pennsylvania (Schlanger & Fettig,