The Pros And Cons Of Supermax Prisons

The “worst of the worst” inmates are kept in solitary confinement, which is, granting the prison staff the authority to have complete “control” over an individual, in other words restricting their access to freedoms of basic life (Mears and Watson, 2006, p.232-270) This particular system of confinement is achieved and operated to its full potential in what’s known as a supermax prison. A little over twenty years ago supermax prisons were uncommon and unheard of in America. A system that specifically catered to the “worst of the worst” inmates did not start to become commonly used until the mid 1980’s. “Today, over two-thirds of states have supermax facilities that collectively house over 20,000 inmates”. (Mears, 2013, p.686) With such high …show more content…
However are protocols followed to ensure that the constitutional rights of supermax inmates are met, practiced, and legitimate? (Mears, 2013, p. 692) There is no real form of corrections being implemented besides taking away the rights of the individual. Essentially have a criminal locked away for 23-hours a day is much like using the taxpayers dollars to pay for a strict adult day care service. Without any means of rehabilitation or restoration the criminal is going to resort back to a life of crime. A conducted interview by Spunk.org addresses life after supermax prisons by asking John Perotti about his prior experience. He writes after having spent a 12 year sentence in and out of control units or other words solitary confinement that “Every aspect of life in the control units is meant to debase and degrade a prisoner’s very soul, the purpose being that when released to the general population where conditions are somewhat improved, the prisoner causes no problems due to fear of being sent back”(“What is a Supermax Prison,”n.d., para.