Solitary Confinement Research Paper

A total of 4,446 inmates died in 2013, an increase of 131 deaths since 2012 and 4 in every 10 inmates return to a federal prison within 3 years after release. Private prisons are known to have budget cuts and can result in lack of safety precautions and more deaths. Many of the deaths in prison are suicides in solitary confinement. Solitary confinement is when an inmate is kept alone in a tiny cell for days and even up to months. Private prisons are prisons run by private companies and are allowed to have a different rule set than normal federal prisons. These statistics show that prisons are not as safe as they should be and that they do not reform as many inmates as they should. Prisons need to be reformed because of their lack of safety, …show more content…
Solitary confinement effect inmates mental health and well being.It is known to drive inmates crazy and cause them to do things that they wouldn't normally do like injury themselves and try to commit suicide. "These words were spoken in mid-July by President Obama, at the NAACP convention in Philadelphia. They echo remarks made in March by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who flatly declared: 'Solitary confinement literally drives men mad'" (Lueders). The point of prison is to reform inmates and change them into members of society but how will that be able to happen for the prisoners being kept in a tiny cell all day with no human interaction other than a guard dropping off their meal. Solitary confinement can cause suicide.Solitary confinement is known to have effect on a prisoner’s mental health and has been shown to cause inmates to self harm and even attempt suicide. It also dehumanizes people and breaks people. Many cases have shown that “One man she knew stopped eating. Another, while serving a maximum 360-day term in solitary, attempted suicide. In response, she says, he was punished with an additional 360 days in the hole” (Lueders). It has driven many inmates to attempt to take their own lives and then punished more for doing so. That type of treatment will never reform a person and goes against the whole point of prison. Solitary confinement effects inmates mental health and well being and that it can cause suicide are reasons why solitary confinement has long lasting effects on prisoners and can be life

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