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Solitary Confinement Information

Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is denied or is given only limited contact with any other persons, 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 from the criminal or is given for violations of prison regulations. It is also used as a form of protective custody and to implement a suicide watch.

It is considered by many legal scholars[1] to be a form of psychological torture[2] when the period of confinement is longer than a few weeks or is continued indefinitely.[3]

Solitary confinement is colloquially referred to in American English as the 'hotbox', the 'hole', 'lockdown', the 'SHU' (pronounced 'shoe') - an acronym for security housing unit, or the 'pound'; and in British English as the 'block' or the 'cooler'.[4][5]

Contents

Use and criticism

Those who accept the practice consider it necessary for prisoners who are considered dangerous to other people ("the most predatory" prisoners),[6] those who might be capable of leading crime groups even from within, or those who are kept 'incommunicado' for purported reasons of national security. Finally, it may be used for prisoners who are at high risk of being attacked by other inmates, such as pedophiles, celebrities, or witnesses who are in prison themselves. This latter form of solitary confinement is sometimes referred to as protective custody.

In the US Federal Prison system, solitary confinement is known as the Special Housing Unit (SHU),[7] pronounced / ˈ ʃ uː /. California's prison system also uses the abbreviation SHU, but it stands for Security Housing Units.[8] In other states, it is known as the Special Management Unit (SMU), pronounced /ˈsmuː/. In Canada they are known as a Special Handling Unit.

Opponents of solitary confinement hold that it is a form of cruel and unusual punishment[9] and torture[10] because the lack of human contact, and the sensory deprivation that often go with solitary confinement, can have a severe negative impact on a prisoner's mental state[6] that may lead to certain mental illnesses such as depression, permanent or semi-permanent changes to brain physiology,[11] an existential crisis,[12][13][14][15] and death.[10]

Currently, there is no empirical evidence which supports the hypothesis that supermax prisons, which house prisoners assigned to solitary confinement, reduce gang presence or violence inside prisons and increase public safety.[16] One study found that prisoners released in Washington in 1997, when controlled for recidivism variables such as age and criminal history, were more likely to commit felonies or violent crimes if they had been assigned to a supermax facility during their incarceration.[17]

Solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure for prisoners in Europe was largely reduced or eliminated during the twentieth century.[2] In 2004, only 40 out of 75,000 inmates held in England and Wales were placed in solitary confinement cells.[18]

See also

References

  1. ^ Elizabeth Vasiliades (2005-01-21). "Solitary Confinement and International Human Rights". American University International Law Review. http://www.auilr.org/pdf/21/21-1-5.pdf. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
  2. ^ a b Gawande, Atul (2009-01-07). "Is long-term solitary confinement torture?". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande. Retrieved 2010-04-16.
  3. ^ Tracy Hresko url=http://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1071&context=pilr+(Spring 2006). "In the Cellars of the Hollow Men". Pace International Law Review.
  4. ^ Published: 4:25PM BST 17 Jun 2009 (2009-06-17). "Army captain was real life 'Cooler King' from The Great Escape". Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/defence/5559761/Army-captain-was-real-life-Cooler-King-from-The-Great-Escape.html. Retrieved 2010-04-16.
  5. ^ "UK | Wales | North West Wales | Cooler King recalls Great Escape". BBC News. 2004-03-16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/3517476.stm. Retrieved 2010-04-16.
  6. ^ a b Solitary Confinement Torture In The US - Kerness, Bonnie; National Coordinator of the 'National Campaign to Stop Control Unit Prisons', 1998
  7. ^ Institution Supplement - Visiting Regulations, USP McCreary (from the Bureau of Prisons, US Department of Justice website. Accessed 2008 May 1.)
  8. ^ Visitors, State Prison, Corcoran (CSP-COR) (from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation website. Accessed 2008 May 1.)
  9. ^ Trend toward solitary confinement worries experts - Tyre, Peg; US News, 1998 9 January
  10. ^ a b "Survivors of Solitary Confinement". National Radio Project: Making Contact. 2009-06-03. No. 22, season 12. Direct link to audio file.
  11. ^ Stuart Grassian Psychiatric effects of solitary confinement (redacted, non-institution and non-inmate specific version of a declaration submitted in September 1993 in Madrid v. Gomez, 889F.Supp.1146. California, USA. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  12. ^ Grassian Psychopathological effects of solitary confinement American Journal of Psychiatry Online 1983; 140: 1450-1454
  13. ^ Haney Mental Health Issues in Long-Term Solitary and "Supermax" Confinement, Crime Delinquency. 2003; 49: 124-156
  14. ^ Karen Franklin Segregation Psychosis (from the author's private website, with further references. Retrieved 2008-06-18.
  15. ^ Harold I. Schwartz, Death Row Syndrome and Demoralization: Psychiatric Means to Social Policy Ends J Am Acad Psychiatry Law 33:2:153-155 (2005)
  16. ^ Mears, Daniel P. (March 2008). "An Assessment of Supermax Prisons Using an Evaluation Research Framework". The Prison Journal 88 (1): 43–68. doi:10.1177/0032885507310964. http://tpj.sagepub.com/content/88/1/43.abstract. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  17. ^ "Felony and Violent Recidivism Among Supermax Prison Inmates in Washington State: A Pilot Study". University of Washington. 19 April 2004. http://www.son.washington.edu/faculty/fac-page-files/Lovell-SupermaxRecidivism-4-19-04.pdf. Retrieved 18 December 2010.
  18. ^ Tapley, Lance. "The Worst of the Worst: Supermax Torture in America". Boston Review. http://www.bostonreview.net/BR35.6/tapley.php. Retrieved 18 December 2010.

External links

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Categories: Forensic psychology | Penal imprisonment | Torture | Human rights by issue

 

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