Solitary Confinement and Cells Research Paper

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Solitary Confinement for Prison Infractions

In this article, the subject of solitary confinement as a punishment for breaking prison laws and its moral effect is discussed and a decision taken whether it should be continued or not.

Background of Solitary Confinement

The country with the highest number of prisoners in the world is the United States of America with 's over 2 million people in various federal, state and locally owned incarceration facilities, a number which represents an almost 400% rise compared to the population in the 70's. numbers. The 2014 U.S. National Research Council report showed that in the year 2012, America was home to over 25% of the world's prisoners and 1% of Americans were in jail. A common prison tradition that has received a lot of attention and criticism lately is the segregation of specific inmates into separate cells in order to protect the other prisoners or to carry out further punishment. This tradition has been called by various names including "solitary confinement," "seclusion," or "restricted housing," and it is mostly characterized by keeping inmates in tiny, constricted cells for periods as long as years. (Solitary confinement in prisons: Key data and research findings). Various people and groups have stood up against this tradition, one of which is the "Stop Solitary" movement, which believes the treatment is inhumane and could have a deteriorating effect on the constantly growing number of the patients living with mental ailments in the U.S. correctional facilities. When the GAO report in 2013 had been compiled, over 7% of the 217,000 prisoners it houses were subjected to solitary confinement for an estimated 23 hours daily. There are various levels of confinement approved by the U.S. leadership; they include the Special Housing Units (SHU), Special Management Units (SMU) and Administrative Maximum (ADX). There has been a rise in solitary confinement across the country's facilities, the report being referenced reveals that during the period of 2008 to 2013, the number of prisoners subjected to solitary confinement rose by an estimated 17%.

Though a generally accepted description of solitary confinement doesn't exist despite it being referred to by names such as 'seclusion, 'separation, ', it could be simply described as the seclusion and confinement of a person to a constricted cell for up to 22 to 24 hours daily with very little contact allowed with others (Solitary confinement - Penal Reform International).

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The sets of rules that define solitary confinement in a facility slightly differ from that of other facilities, however some regular ones include (Solitary confinement facts - American Friends Service Committee):

• Imprisonment behind a secure door for over 22 hours daily

• Drastically reduced interaction with other people

• Occasional phone calls and sporadic non-contact family check-ups

• Little or non-existent psychotherapy.

• Very limited medical and psychological health therapy

Little access to published works or personal effects. Bodily, psychological and chemical torture with various methods and instruments employed. The inmates play a major role in the administration of this tradition as they are the ones who actually experience solitary confinement (Writer Thoughts) while the prison workers and country senators are the main stakeholders involved in the invention and modification of this tradition. This custom was created as a form of extra punishment for erring inmates with privileges like spare time, family contact, socialization, TV etc. taken away from them. This is no ordinary loss as these privileges form the bulk of what gives the prisoners a form of respite while in incarceration (Gangi, 2015). When this custom is applied to a prisoner, they liken their initial lifestyle to the new one they find themselves and due to the psychological trauma; they might behave in an unexpected manner.

Ethical Implications

Solitary confinement has been proved to have a strong relationship with an increased tendency to perform dangerous acts on one self. "Inmates who had ever experienced solitary confinement proved to be three times more likely to try to harm themselves within 3 years when compared to those who have never been subjected to it. These prisoners who had been in confinement are twice as likely to harm themselves during their segregation and six times more likely when….....

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