Solitary Confinement Analysis

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Another huge factor to the development of mental health issues is solitary confinement. Solitary confinement is a form of punishment where the inmate becomes isolated from any human contact for up to twenty-two hours a day, which can sometimes the sentence can reach up to a high amount of days. Inmates in solitary confinement are tortured by the guards where the inmates are starved, beat by the guards, denied access to showers and left in a filthy cell. In the article by Phillips it details the harms of domestic solitary confinement, where the Senate Intelligence Committee found that detainees in solitary confinement and extended isolation exhibited psychological and behavioral issues, including hallucinations, paranoia, insomnia, and attempts …show more content…
Browder was incarcerated for a crime that he did not commit and suffered everything that could go wrong within the system. During his imprisonment, Browder experienced many days in solitary confinement, which were approximately 800 days. Browder was beaten by the guards for unnecessary reasons, starved and isolated from anyone. Browder was not allowed to have any visitations from family members. Browder was isolated for the three years he spent in prison and the result were crucial. He began talking to himself, having hallucination and even attempted to commit suicide. In one incident, Browder tried to hang himself while the guards were by his cell door, once he jumped, the guards stood and watched for a couple minutes and finally took him off and beat him (Gonnerman, 2015). Browder asked for help many times but he was ignored and left without treatment. After his release, Browder still suffered from mental health issues. The trauma that was caused inside the prison had taken an emotional toll on him, he was not the same person anymore. He developed personality issues, anger, paranoia, depression and suicidal thoughts. Therapy did not help anymore because the damage was too deep. Kalief Browder committed suicide June 6, 2015 (Gonnerman,