The Pros And Cons Of Solitary Confinement

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The question is what is solitary confinement? Solitary confinement is generally defined as 22 to 24 hours of isolation ranging from days to decades. In the early nineteenth century, in the U.S a new practice of imprisonment of people was found. Prisoners were held in solitary cells, left without access to any human contact. I was thought that this was a new method of rehabilitation. However, this was disastrous as the result if left prisoners to usually suffer from prolonged severe psychological harm and damage. This practice was eventually abandoned. However it would resurface back. Over the last few decades prisons officials has found that solitary confinement is a way to manage and control high level dangerous offenders. However, over the …show more content…
Inmates are divided up based on their threat level. Solitary confinement is divide several units. Special Housing Unit (SHU), Administrative Segregation. The Hole, Communication Management Unit (CMU), Security Threat Group Management Unit (STGMU), Voluntary and Involuntary Protective Custody. In supermax prisons all of the inmates are in solitary confinement. According to Bureau of Justice Statistics, there are estimated eighty thousand inmates who are in solitary confinement. This figured doesn’t even include all of the jails and juvenile faculties in the country. In solitary confinement inmates are locked in their cell behind a steel door for twenty two to twenty four hours a day. Inmates are usually fed through a small opening in the door. The inmates who are in solitary confinement have little to no contact with other inmates or correctional officers. They are not allowed visitors and they rarely are allowed to receive phone calls. There are several problems associated with solitary confinement. For example physical torture, hog-tying, physical restraint chairs, and forced extractions by prison correctional officers. In solitary confinement inmates bodies start to deterate. Inmates suffer from sensory deprivation. They also suffer from remote and mental torture, for example permeant bright lighting, extreme temperature and forced