Charles Dickens American Prison System Summary

Transforming The American Prison System Charles Dickens’ American Notes chronicles his visit to the United States in the mid 1840s. Dickens spends the majority of this nonfiction work exploring the young institutions of the United States of America. During this time period, two separate major prison systems began development. The two prison system plans, named after the cities where they were located— the "Philadelphia" plan in Pennsylvania and the "Auburn" plan in New York, both share a common thread, solitary confinement. Solitary confinement— the isolation of a prisoner in a separate cell as a punishment— is a uniquely American invention based on the Quaker theology. Often considered an unwarranted criticism of the still young American …show more content…
It is not often that this sort of access is awarded to researchers. He noted a number of troubling phenomena caused by solitary confinement. First, after months or years of complete isolation, many prisoners begin to lose the ability to initiate behavior of any kind. They no longer possess the ability to organize their own lives around activity and or purpose. He writes, “Chronic apathy, lethargy, depression, and despair often result. . . . In extreme cases, prisoners may literally stop behaving,” becoming essentially catatonic. Second, almost ninety per cent of these prisoners had difficulties with “irrational anger,” compared with just three per cent of the general population.” As time has gone on the effects of solitary confinement have become clearer and clearer …show more content…
On December 16th, 2015 New York State agreed to a groundbreaking overhaul to its solitary confinement program. These reforms are the result of a lawsuit brought by the New York Civil Liberties Union over the treatment of inmates in solitary confinement. The goal of the reforms is to significantly reduce the number of inmates held in isolation, cut their maximum length of stay, and improve inmates living conditions. Just as it was in Dickens time the conditions in solitary confinement remain insufferable. “For 23 hours a day, 4,000 inmates are locked in concrete 6-by-10-foot cells, sometimes for years, with little if any human contact, no access to rehabilitative programs and a diet that can be restricted to a foul-tasting brick of bread and potatoes known at the prisons as ‘the loaf.’” Prisoners were only afforded one hour of recreation a day, which they spent alone in a chain-linked cage. The changes that were announced are expected to reduce the number of inmates in solitary confinement by at least twenty five percent. In addition, there will be a series of reforms that will improve the inmates quality of life by allowing them a monthly phone call and group recreation among other things. Under the settlement, they will be allowed to leave their cells and spend their recreation time with others on the solitary block for two hours, three times a