"Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which an inmate is
isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of
prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond
incarceration for a prisoner and has been cited as an additional measure of
protection for the inmate. This form of punishment is also given for violations
of prison regulations. It is also used as a form of protective custody and to
prevent in the case of suicide, restriction from items that could disrupt the
prisoners health…
…The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other UN bodies have stated
that the solitary confinement (physical
and social isolation of 22–24 hours per day for 1 day or more) of young people
under age 18, for any duration, constitutes cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment ( ACLU/Human Rights Watch (2012). Growing Up Locked Down: Youth in Solitary Confinement
in Jails and Prisons in the United States (PDF). United States of
America. p. 76. ISBN 1-56432-949-6)
"
In the Unites
States, there are currently about 6,400
prisoners in isolation in state prisons. Recently, as a result of a federal
lawsuit, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has agreed to
reduce the number of state prisoners in solitary confinement (about 2000
prisoners) and hopefully other states will follow through and end solitary
confinement as well.
Personally, I do not
believe that 'hopefully' is good enough which is the purpose of this blog post.
In today's world, things can silently slide down unless the public is standing
up and creates enough ripples until a change is practically made.
There are numerous
amount of research done, proving that solitary confinement is cruel,
ineffective and harmful.
I understand that
there are people who believe that those who committed crimes should be punished
in whatever means necessary however, do they really understand the core reason
that crime exists to begin with; the reasons why people went off to a life path
that is not good for them and others; the internal and external influences that
led a person to commit a crime; how challenging it is for people to walk away
from a life that could potentially lead them to end up in jail.
I personally believe
that prisons should be a place that facilitates the support structure for those
who have gone off a destructive path so that they are able to change their old
habits to something that is of worth. It doesn't mean that all prisoners would
actually change and take responsibility for their behavior as they may be too
gone in their mind however, in no way they should be sent to holes for
unreasonable hours/days/weeks as that would do more harm than good.
Please investigate
what solitary confinement actually is and what we, are actually accepting and
allowing to exists as long as we keep quiet.
More sources:
Friend's Service
Committee's fact sheet
The American Friends
Service Committee (AFSC) is a Quaker organization that promotes lasting peace
with justice
AmnestyUSA
American Civil
Liberties report:
Growing Up Locked
Down: Youth in Solitary Confinement in Jails and Prisons Across the United
States
American Friends
Service Committee: Stopmax Campaign
Children in
Solitary: A 2012 Human Rights Watch report notes: “Youth offenders
often spend significant amounts of their time in US prisons isolated from the
general prison population. Such segregation can be an attempt to protect
vulnerable youth offenders from the general population, to punish infractions
of prison rules, or to manage particular categories of prisoners, such as
alleged gang members. Youth offenders frequently described their experience in
segregation as a profoundly difficult ordeal.”
Psychology: FRONTLINE interview about psych
research, and how and why solitary confinement is used in America today.
Transcript here:
Law: American University Law Review,
"Solitary Confinement
International still looking prevalence in other
coutries
UK
The United Kingdom
has approximately as many total prisoners as the United States has in
solitary confinement. While difficult to estimate, the UK likely has no
more than 500 people in solitary confinement at any given time. …
Other links:
Life In Solitary |
2014 Documentary
Abby Martin: The Empire Files - Enter the biggest
prison system in history
Kids Behind
Bars:why children in the prison?
Mother Jones
article- children in solitary:
0 comments:
Post a Comment