The Pros And Cons Of Voluntary Confinement

With more than two million men and women incarcerated in US federal and state prisons, America’s prison population is the largest in the world. Many correctional facilities have come under scrutiny in recent years for separating prisoners from the others as a form of punishment. This practice is known as solitary confinement, and is used throughout the country. The practice began in the early nineteenth century where people were imprisoned in solitary cells as a form of rehabilitation. The results were highly unsuccessful, and many of the prisoners suffered psychological harm, so the practice was abandoned. Over a century later, it has made an unfortunate comeback in a more sterile environment. The form of punishment is carried out by isolating …show more content…
It is clear that whether a person agrees with the practice or not, some restrictions need to be made, keeping the well being of the inmate in mind. Although it is not completely immoral to punish someone for his or her actions, it is not just to take away their sanity and humanity. We know that isolating someone for 24 hours per day for extended periods of time is not rehabilitative, as it is considered to be torture, so why is it still being done? The Pope and CST have voiced their opinions about the topic, and completely disagree with the entire practice, for it takes away a person’s dignity. Many who are against solitary confinement are aware that it will take great amounts of time and effort before it is ended altogether, but that does not stop various groups and organizations from voicing their opinions and filing lawsuits against these prisons. Despite the acceptance of the practice of solitary confinement across the United States, in and out of prisons, strides will keep being made in order to slowly make restrictions on the practice, until it is one day ended