The Biggest Problem with Solitary Confinement

The Biggest Problem with Solitary Confinement

At present, the United States has about 80,000 prisoners who are being held in special housing units (SHUs) due to the fact that they breached penitentiary codes of conduct as they served their jail terms. The prisoners of this type have essentially been separated out from other prisoners and from themselves as well. Solitary confinement simply refers to the practice used to isolate prisoners within closed cells for 22 hours to 24 hours daily, almost free of any human contact, for durations that range from days to months, years to even decades. Over the past 20 years, prison systems in the United States have continued to depend upon solitary confinement as a tool for prison management (Peters 12). The biggest problem with solitary confinement or SHU is that it is an inhumane and expensive method of punishment and prison management.

Solitary confinement or SHU essentially isolates the inmate from any human contact, although usually with the exception of prison staff members. The practice is typically utilized by prison systems as a method of punishment beyond imprisonment for an inmate. It is also employed as a further measure of protection from the criminal. Moreover, solitary confinement is also given for breaches of rules and regulations of the prison; employed to implement a suicide watch; and as a method of protective custody (Lyden 22). Generally, the practice of solitary confinement is employed whenever an inmate is seen as dangerous to other people and/or to himself or herself; or if an inmate such as a witness or pedophile has a high chance of getting harmed by another prisoner or prisoners.

Due to the fact that lacking human interaction could have grave effects on the psychological health of the prisoner, placing inmates in long-term isolation from other people could put communities at risk as soon as the inmate is freed (Peters 13). Whilst SHU is justified by prison officials as a vital measure to protect prison guards as well as inmates from aggressive criminals, it is usually enforced on persons, especially inmates from minority groups, who threaten corrections officials in a different manner. Time and again, jailhouse doctors as well as jailhouse lawyers who tend to the requirements of their fellow criminals, are put in SHUs. Sometimes, political prisoners from several independence and civil rights movements join them (Eldred 8).

The biggest problem of solitary confinement or SHU or supermax is that the practice is an inhumane and expensive form of prison management. Humans are social beings: they are not just social in the obvious sense that they each rely on other people, or in the inconsequential sense that they like to be with others. They are social in a more fundamental manner: basically, to exist as a normal person calls for interaction with others. However, SHUs totally prevent prisoners from engaging in social interactions with other people – something that is completely inhumane (Smith 4). Nonetheless, one of the ironies of SHUs is that, as starved as inmates become for company, the solitary confinement experience often leaves the individual not fit for social interaction.

The demoralizing physical as well as psychological effects of prolonged SHUs are well known: it is noteworthy that extended solitary confinement will cause significant psychological effects to inmates and puts prisoners at a serious risk of even more ravaging mental harm in future. In the recent past, studies have revealed that long solitary confinement leads to an intensified and unrelenting state of uneasiness and anxiety, heart palpitations, headaches, nightmares, fear of impeding nervous breakdown, lethargy and sleeplessness. Additionally, other demonstrated effects are suicidal ideation, chronic depression, social withdrawal, compulsive ruminations, aggressive fantasies, confused thought processes, feelings of emotional deterioration, mood swings, social withdrawal, oversensitivity to stimuli, as well as emotional flatness (Smith 7). Exposing an inmate to such life-shattering conditions undoubtedly amounts to an unusual and nasty punishment which is inhumane.

Moreover, the global community also condemns the cruel usage of SHUs. Solitary confinement is especially inhuman because it comprises: restricted personal property and reading material; detainment behind a steel door for 23 hours daily; psychological torture like restraint chairs, hog-typing and forced cell extraction; restricted contact with other people; abhorrently insufficient psychological health treatment and mental treatment; very restricted access to educational and/or rehabilitative programming (Peters 8). In addition, there is rare non-contact family visits and infrequent phone calls; sexual violence and intimidation; as well as psychological torture for instance forced insomnia, permanent bright lighting, extreme temperatures and sensory deprivation (Smith 3). In the United States, there are usually harsh and unsympathetic conditions within the SHUs such as appalling health conditions of the inmates, poor medical care, as well as careless treatment of SHU prisoners by prison staff members. They are also generally treated in a cruel and unkind manner. For instance, in California’s Pelican Bay SHU, inmates are not allowed to call home, are confined within windowless cells with no access to sunlight and are served foods that are rotten or substandard and inadequate (Eldred 10).

The long and/or indefinite inhumane solitary confinement is also a human rights issue. International human rights bodies and experts have also denounced the practice arguing that it is an abuse of human rights that could constitute torture. Solitary confinement, in essence, meets the description of torture as defined in various global human rights treaties, and therefore it amounts to an infringement of the human rights law. For instance, the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) states that torture refers to a state-sanctioned action by which harsh suffering or pain, be it psychological or mental is deliberately imposed on an individual for punishment or information (Lyden 19). As such, SHUs to a great extent contravene the basic human rights of prisoners. Studies have shown that 15 days in an SHU amounts to inhuman punishment or treatment; it is of note that 15 days is the limit following which permanent and irreparable harmful mental effects could happen. Nonetheless, a lot of inmates in the country have been put in solitary confinement for much longer (Peters 13).

Compared to the average prison, SHUs typically cost more to construct and cost much more per prisoner compared to general population prisoners. In the United States, the average cost of 12 months in SHU will cost roughly $75,000. For instance, California’s Department of Corrections disclosed the following housing costs for the Pelican Bay State Prison: $43,640 per Level I prisoner; $171,857 per EOP/PSU prisoner; $70,000 per SHU prisoner; $77,740 per ASU prisoner; and $58,000 per GP prisoner (Eldred 12). The cost of housing an SHU prisoner in the State of Ohio at the Ohio State Penitentiary is roughly $149 per day and $54,000 yearly. At the same prison, housing a maximum security prisoner is about $101 daily and $26,865 yearly. The cost is $22,995 annually or $63 daily for the general population prisoners (Eldred 12). It is of note that SHUs are usually linked to substantially higher costs of construction per cell. For instance, Boscobel supermax facility in Wisconsin was constructed in the year 1990 to hold 500 prisoners at a total cost of $47.5 million, which is equivalent to more than $95,000 for every bed. Even more astonishingly, Illinois’ Tamms Correctional Center constructed in 1998 cost $73 million or roughly $146,000 for every bed, and it was built to house 500 prisoners (Lyden 14). These figures clearly show that SHUs or solitary confinements are more expensive to build compared to average prison facilities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, solitary confinement or SHU is a punitive measure that is used to separate troublesome or dangerous prisoners from the general population of the prison facility. It is infrequently employed to protect prisoners whose lives may be in danger. It is also given for breaches of rules and regulations of the prison. The biggest problem with SHU/solitary confinement is that it is an expensive and inhumane method of punishment and prison management. Generally, extended solitary confinement results in an intensified and unrelenting state of uneasiness and anxiety. It also leads to heart palpitations, headaches, nightmares, suicidal ideation, chronic depression, compulsive ruminations and aggressive fantasies. Exposing someone to such life-shattering conditions is without doubt inhumane. Solitary confinement is particularly inhuman since there is detainment behind a steel door for 23 hours daily; psychological torture; restricted contact with other people; insufficient mental treatment; windowless cells; and inmates are served substandard or rotten food which is usually inadequate. Compared to the average prison, solitary confinement facilities typically cost more to construct and cost much more per prisoner compared to general population prisoners. Thus, the biggest problem with solitary confinement is that it is an inhumane and expensive method of punishment and prison management.

Works cited

Eldred, Sheila. How Does Solitary Confinement Alter Prisoners. Web, 2013.

Lyden, Jacki. Solitary Confinement: Punishment or Cruelty. 2013, Print.

Peters, Justin. Solitary Confinement is Horrible and Inhumane. Why Is It Still Legal. 2013, Web.

Smith, Austin. Why We Need ‘Solitary’. New York Post. 2012, Print.