Essay Example on Solitary Confinement: A Growing Problem in US Prisons

Introduction

Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment whereby a prisoner is kept in a single cell with little or no contact with other inmates. In the united states, the use of solitary confinement has been increasing and has now become a key feature in most super-maximum prison that were developed to rehabilitate the high-risk prisoners. It is estimated that approximately 80000 to 100000 prisoners have being in solitary confinement across the country (Dingfelder, 40). Prisons use solitary confinement for various reasons that include; to protect the vulnerable inmates, to help the prison staffs manage the inmates and as a form of disciplinary punishment for the inmates who violate the prison rules and regulations. Prisoners are held in solitary confinement for approximately twenty-three to twenty-four hours each day with little or no contact with visitors and other inmates. However, despite solitary confinement playing a significant role of rehabilitating the inmates, it perceived to cause more harm to the prisoner as compared to the incurred benefits. Therefore, the responsible bodies such as the government should put the necessary measures in place to ensure that solitary confinement is abolished to minimize the incurred effects. This study aims to affirm that solitary confinement should be banned.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

It Triggers Psychological Effects

It has been noted that the confinement rooms usually trigger severe psychological and mental effects which usually have a huge impact on the prisoner's lives. Isolating the inmates for a long time can reduce their environmental stimulation and also makes them develop the feeling of losing control. Some of the environmental stimulations developed by the patients include anxiety, hallucinations, distortion, nervousness severe depression and loss of appetite. Prolonged and indefinite confinement of inmates for more than fifteen days should be highly prohibited; this is because it creates a lasting mental damage to the prisoner (Smith & Peter, 449). Solitary confinement also worsens the condition of the inmates with mental health issues such as depression. The inmates with the mental health conditions usually experience some form of torture while in the confinement room while for the inmates who are undergoing mental health treatment subjecting them to confinement usually degrade the body's response to treatment. On the order hand, cases of self-harm are on the increase among the individuals who are in solitary confinement. Cases of self-harm usually occur due to the psychological torture that the inmate undergoes while in solitary. The most likely cases of self-harm include self-amputation, banging the head against the wall and cutting the body using sharp objects. According to research, approximately 53% of self-harm cases within the prison occur in solitary confinement (O'Keefe & Maureen, 32). Also, research has shown that the prisoners subjected to solitary confinement have a higher chance of committing the act of self-harm within 1000 days after incarceration as compared to those who have never been subjected to solitary confinement(O'Keefe & Maureen 13). To avoid these psychological effects triggered by being confined the government should ensure that they ban the practice of solitary confinement in all prisons across the country.

It Creates Physiological Effects

The confined inmates usually experience various physiological symptoms after a short period in confinement. Some of these symptoms include chronic headaches, hypertension, sweating palms, heart palpitation, and extreme dizziness. They also experience drastic weight loss which is mainly due to irregular digestion. Even though some of this effects may be as a result of physiological stress due to isolation most of the physiological effects are usually related to the prisoner's physical state of confinement (Briggs et al. 132). For instance, the confined prisoner is likely to complain of muscle pain, and abdominal pain, which may be as a result of not exercising (Bonta & Paul 57). The prisoners also experience enhanced oversensitivity to the natural stimuli, for example, the sound of closing doors which is likely to trigger sleeping difficulties. The enhanced probability that the prisoners will be over irritated by the stimuli makes their return to the population very difficult.

It Affects The Inmates Social Life

Most prisoners who spent some time in solitary confinement usually find it hard to resocialize with other members of the society once they are released. The psychological effects triggered during solitary confinement can affect the inmate's ability to return to the society and adjust to the normal life. It becomes hard to relate with other people due to the amount of trauma experienced while in confinement. Once a solitary confined inmate is set free he or she usually avoids public places and crowds; instead, he or she likes staying in secluded place since the public areas usually overwhelm his or her sensory stimulations. People usually expect that the prison system will rehabilitate their friends and relative; however, instead of fulfilling this objective the prison usually destroys the inmate's life through triggering the psychological effects that affect their social life. Once released to the outside world the prisoner usually develops frustration as a result of not being able to relate with his or her family and friends.

Conclusion

Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment where the inmate is secluded from the rest of the population for a certain period. Despite the prison staff viewing it as a convenient means of managing the inmates it usually has severe consequences on the inmate's life. Some of these effects include; effects on the inmate's social life, psychological effects on the prisoners and other physiological effects on the prisoners. To minimize this effects, the government should ensure that prolonged solitary confinement is banned within the country.

Works cited

Briggs, Chad S., Jody L. Sundt, and Thomas C. Castellano. "The effect of supermaximum security prisons on aggregate levels of institutional violence." Criminology 41.4 (2003): 1341-1376.

Bonta, James, and Paul Gendreau. "Reexamining the cruel and unusual punishment of prison life." Law and Human Behavior 14.4 (1990): 347.

Dingfelder, "The psychologist, testifies about the dangers of solitary confinement." Monitor on Psychology 43.9 (2012): 10.

O'Keefe, Maureen L. "Administrative segregation from within: A corrections perspective." The Prison Journal 88.1 (2008): 123-143.

Smith, Peter Scharff. "The effects of solitary confinement on prison inmates: A brief history and review of the literature." Crime and justice 34.1 (2006): 441-528.