I believe that solitary confinement, especially for children, is cruel and unusual punishment and therefore is both unconstitutional in the USA and immoral in general. It should be banned or if used temporarily for disciplinary purposes, should be restricted severely.
To be unconstitutional in the US, the punishment must be BOTH cruel AND unusual. Solitary has been determined to be not unusual, having been frequently imposed, historically. Same with the death penalty, certainly cruel, but not at all unusual.
This just in: punishment is cruel and unusual. :sad_yes:
Unless you advocate a more radical remedy.If you mean Dannemora, are you suggesting they should have been put in solitary before anybody knew they were going to escape?It is called monday morning quarterbacking
Solitary confinement might be “cruel” but the real life issues we are confronted with, leave us no other choice.
Some criminals are so dangerous that unleashing them on the general criminal population WOULD BE cruel to that population.
Just now there is a massive manhunt on 2 very dangerous criminal that committed atrocious murders. As a result the population at large is at risk right now from their “presence” on their midsts.
I am not suggesting anything, just pointing out that I am not qualified to determine if placing someone in solitary confinement is or is not appropriate. The authority that has to deal with that person has the knowledge if he/she is capable of living in relative harmony with the rest of the inmate population.
It doesn’t and in most cases involves TVs and an hour a day outside.I am not suggesting anything, just pointing out that I am not qualified to determine if placing someone in solitary confinement is or is not appropriate. The authority that has to deal with that person has the knowledge if he/she is capable of living in relative harmony with the rest of the inmate population.
If that authority determined that the individual is NOT capable of this, what choices do they have available?
Either segregate or eliminate.
Which is the lesser evil?
As for the escapees example, it is just that, an example of how evil and debased some humans beings are capable of. They already where in a “max security prison”, I doubt they were not in confinement though. It would have been harder to accomplish the escape if they had been.
However I am NOT saying that somehow the wardens could/should have somehow predicted the escape and by isolating them prevented it.
Then I would be guilty of monday morning quarterbacking too.
In other words people see Solitary confinement as a “punishment”.
We put men and women in prison to protect society from evil being inflicted upon it.
Sometime we need to put SOME criminals in isolation (within the prison) in order to protect the other inmates.
The Solitary confinement portrayed in hollywood movies (Placing the prisoner in a dark, damp, dungeon) which WAS a punishment, I very much doubt it exists in the civilized occident (Europe, Canada, USA). I would not be so sure of less “enlightened” societies.
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Would you apply that concept to a prisoner who continues to murder fellow inmates or sexually assault them?
I’m speaking in general, obviously there are going to be specific cases where my answer might be different. But if you watch the documentary, Solitary appears to be a long-term game of “Gotcha!” where the guards make a game out of extending people’s solitary terms for minor infractions (not making the bed, not having belongings put away). People have no access to the outdoors, no human contact other than very brief incidents with guards, they exercise completely alone, etc. It’s inhumane and it’s a form of mental torture. For those people who must be confined alone for the safety of others, there still must be a method of doing it humanely. Ways to keep their minds and bodies active and some human contact even if it’s through a screen or bars.
Having worked in the prison system I can say many inmates only respond or comply with violence, threats of violence. or punishment. Its all they know and understand. I have never seen anyone treated inhumanly in my experience not saying it doesn’t happen at all just my experience. That includes punishment given to those who deserved it or for their protection. Again someone said it above solitary isn’t what you think it is…
I appreciate your work and have friends also that work in the prison system. And I’m aware most people that are in prison are thugs. That said, our system isn’t working. We focus nearly entirely on punishment, with little to no emphasis on rehabilitation. Since most of these felons will one day re-enter society, it would make sense to put some emphasis on rehabilitation. For all that the systems in Europe get accused of coddling their prisoners, they also experience a much lower rate of recidivism. Our system is broken. And I think there should be more oversight on prison guards. I don’t think they should be able to arbitrarily place someone in long term solitary confinement and then keep them there indefinitely with gotcha games designed to make the prisoner fail.
It’s true our current prison system is unsustainable and not working. Comparing recidivism rates or even incarceration rates paints America in a very poor light. It’s also true that we focus far more on punishment than rehabilitation, if anything it is an afterthought and subject to significant political budget cuts. When educational rehabilitation programs are offered to inmates, there’s often a backlash from the public and the prison staff about how prisoners are obtaining free education that they’re denied access to.
It is a good article, but it only tells one side. The other side is that without such measures, the idea that we can safely incarcerate almost any offender is out the window. While solitary confinement has several downsides, it has also has the upside of being the most effective way to keep some people safe from others, and to keep others safe from some people. Without it, there would be, there was, more bloodshed and death. Quality of life is important, but is trumped by preservation of life.
To be honest, I’m not against solitary confinement, for the many reasons expressed above by those who are for it. If you did something criminal/illegal, then punishment is the answer. Punishment is not meant to rehabilitate nor is supposed to be fun. If you are a danger to other prisoners now that you are locked up, you not only deserve your original punishment of being locked away, but it but it is necessary that you be confined alone.
Solitary C. Is hard to watch, but unless something else changes taking care of the root of the problem,it would also cause more harm to others around.
My scope is narrow. And limited . I do not know what goes on in other prisons or jails, but persons have families,and families make our communities and we cannot go about pretending once they are in,that is it. It is painful. It hurts.As a psychologist, and somebody who thrives in complete silence and solitude, I believe solitary confinements may be difficult at first but has the potential of changing the person for the better.