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Celeste Chavez

Ms. Gardner

English 10H/ Per. 4

9 May 2017

A Detrimental Time-out for Criminals

Imagine being trapped in eighty square feet of space for twenty-three hours of the day.

You are given one hour a day to exercise, still in a confined space. Food is tossed to you like an

animal with practically no eye contact. Whether it is named, secure housing, administrative

segregation, or lockdown, this cell is more notoriously known as the hole. These solitary

confinement cells which outsiders seem to believe are a luxury, are smaller than the average

horse stable. Solitary confinement is a form of disciplinary action taken which requires a

prisoner to be isolated from human contact. Many citizens of the world do not understand how

this course of action is affecting everyone, but are rather misinformed on the conditions of the

prisoners and how they are not improving. Although solitary confinement is performed as a form

of punishment for prisoners, this form of discipline can trigger or ignite mental illnesses, increase

the suicide rate, and is not helping the prisoners adapt to the outside world if released.

Initially, one would argue that solitary confinement is the ultimate resort when it comes

to punishments in prison. For example, Greg Dobbs, from The Denver Post, has stated that some

inmates have done horrific crimes which do not compare to others, so solitary confinement is the

way to go. Locking up living beings and leaving them to deteriorate is not a successful way to

reform our prisoners. Instead we must look for more sane options and follow the footsteps of

states such as Minnesota, Nevada, and Utah along with other states who have all joined the Safe
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Alternatives to segregation ("Finding Alternatives to Solitary Confinement"). This is a non-profit

project by the Vera Institute of Justice which seeks to limit the use of solitary confinement, they

do this by analyzing the correctional facility and replying with feedback and policy

recommendations (Safe Alternatives to Segregation Initiative) Additionally, a former

correctional facility supervisor Anthony Gangi, stated that solitary confinement is a place where

prisoners can slowly earn their privileges back and transition safely. While many believe this

course of action is effective, an assistant professor of Criminology, Law and Society at UC

Irvine and author Keramet Reiter stated that these cells are nearing the edge of what is humanly

tolerable. Similarly, alternatives placed in states such as Maine, Colorado, and Washington have

attempted to move prisoners in solitary to mental health units which has increased the level of

safety of the prison and prisoners (Reiter). To summarize, supporters of the use of solitary

confinement believe that it is a safe behavioral transition. One might believe solitary

confinement is successful; however, it should be terminated because it can spark mental illness,

increase suicide rate, and is not beneficial for the prisoners who attempt to adapt to the outside

world when released.

Admittedly, solitary confinement has shown few behavioral successes in the past.

Nevertheless, when one wages the dangers and successes of solitary confinement, it is clear that

it needs to be discontinued. For instance, physiological trauma such as anxiety, paranoia, and

hallucinations are often caused due to the distressing hours alone. Likewise, a mentally ill inmate

from a Tamms supermax prison located in Illinois had experienced such a terrifying adjustment

that he proceeded to mutilate his genitals. Another case belongs to that of a man who after being

in solitary for such a long time, he developed an obsession over his inability to feel satisfaction
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after urinating, always left with the feeling that he still needed to urinate. This gnawed at his

mind all day, and further developed his anxiety. I can not bear to imagine having a mentally ill

family member placed in a solitary cell. After living with my Schizophrenic brother for sixteen

years, I understand the uncontrollable anger that families have when a mentally ill relative is not

given the proper care. Mentally ill prisoners are still being placed in solitary and it needs to stop.

If my brother has bad days in which he has difficulty adjusting in his own home, what happens

when he has no resources or no one to talk to? Solitary confinement needs to be extinguished so

families must never have to experience the horrendous feeling of being constantly afraid that the

safety of your family member is being compromised. Solitary confinement is constantly placing

inmates in a limbo between safety and sanity which continues to harm the prisoners. If solitary is

not keeping the prisoners simultaneously safe and disciplined, why should we maintain this

practice?

Research also shows that prisoners are not being carefully prepared to assist the society

when locked in solitary. The prisoners are being expected to return as a whole after being put

through a metaphorical human shredder. A study conducted by psychologist Harry Harlow from

the University of Wisconsin, explored the toll that isolation can place on a living being. Monkeys

were placed in isolation for long periods of time and proceeded to mutilate themselves but later

readjusted (Breslow). Those with too much isolation were socially obliterated. After spending

time in solitary, prisoners said they did not know how to interact with others socially and never

learned how to gain this attribute back (Breslow). Solitary is not aiding the prisoners in how to

behave with the community and their fellow prisoners. As a result, solitary should be given an

alternative and completely refined to be useful in the future.

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Ultimately, solitary confinement should be replaced because it increases the amount of

suicides. For instance, one study conducted by Stuart Grassian, a former faculty member at

Harvard Medical School and a board-certified psychiatrist, revealed that a third of the hundreds

of solitary inmates he interviewed were actively psychotic and or suicidal (Breslow). Another

study of Californias prison system similarly showed that during the years of 1999 and 2004,

solitary was the cause of half of the suicides. An investigation during 1995 of the federal prison

system also found that sixty-three percent of suicides were conducted by inmates in a special

housing status (Reiter). In addition to these investigations, another prime example of this major

flaw in the use of solitary is that of Kalief Browder. After being incarcerated for three years and

placed in solitary for two of them, he attempted suicide multiple times and eventually succeeded

once he was released. Before prison he told CNN in 2013 that he had no previous history of

mental illness (Reiter). These statistics are mere numbers, but the many lives which have been

lost due to the harsh conditions of solitary are countless. If so many prisoners are ending their

lives after or in solitary, why do we believe it is helpful? As journalist Alayna DeMartini stated,

we are covering our eyes so no one has to look at the roots of the problems.

In conclusion, solitary confinement should be terminated because it creates and

deteriorates those with mental illnesses, accounts for far too many suicides in prison, and is not

benefitting the prisoners for future societal submerse. Solitary strips prisoners from the simple

miracles of life and inflicts harm on themselves more than it does help. Rather than allow this

action to further cripple another more lives we must not forget what goes on behind those cement

walls and steel bars. They are screaming for help, we must open our ears. We can not turn our

backs on the most vulnerable.

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Works Cited

Breslow, Jason M. What Does Solitary Confinement Do To Your Mind? PBS, Public
Broadcasting Service,
www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/what-does-solitary-confinement-do-to-your-mind/. Accessed
25 Apr. 2017.

DeMartini, Alayna. "Long Terms in Solitary can Warp Minds, Critics Say." Columbus Dispatch
(Columbus, OH), 09 Sep, 2007, SIRS Issues Researcher,https://sks.sirs.com.

"Finding Alternatives to Solitary Confinement." Christian Science Monitor, 20 Dec, 2016, SIRS
Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Gangi, Anthony. The Role of Solitary Confinement, and Why It's Necessary.CorrectionsOne,
8 Sept. 2015,
www.correctionsone.com/treatment/articles/9487054-The-role-of-solitary-confinement-and-why
-its-necessary/. Accessed 25 Apr. 2017.

Greg Dobbs and Special to The Denver Post |. Dobbs: Yes, Some Inmates Still Deserve Solitary
Confinement. The Denver Post, 14 Mar. 2014,
www.denverpost.com/2014/03/14/dobbs-yes-some-inmates-still-deserve-solitary-confinement/

Reiter, Keramet. "On the Edge of Humane." Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct, 2016, pp. A.11, SIRS
Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.