Annotated Bibliography: Supermax, Hell Behind Bars

Annotated Bibliography: SUPERMAX, Hell Behind Bars

Daly, William. “Segregation and Solitary: Necessary Evils?” American Jails “A Solitary Scandal.” American Jails. 26 Jun. 2013. Master File Premier. Web. Oct. 2015.

In his article, Daly explains that the main purpose of maximum security facilities is to confine and segregate the most violent and disruptive inmates in order to maintain those facilities safe and secure. Maximum security prisons also have other restrictions that have been a subject of discussion, not only by correctional administrators but also by behavioral health professionals, scholars and researchers. Daly points out that there’s a problem of perception about what really happens in jail, because most of the information

that people receive comes from what is portrayed in movies and television. Whereas the research conducted by health professional analyzing the psychological effects of those methods that correctional administrators use to determine who should or should not be placed in segregation and isolation units is the main problem that sways the effectiveness of supermax prisons.

Glaze, Sarah. “Prisoners and Mental Illness.” CQ Researcher 13 Mar. 2015. 25, 241-64. Web. 3 Nov. 2015.

In her report, Glazer argues that some inmates who are sent to supermax prisons suffer from mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, severe depression and other psychiatric problems. Many inmates are incarcerated at supermax prisons because there are few facilities to treat their mental illnesses. Glazer points out that for the past few years, states have suffered from budget cuts of about $4 billion in treatment funds, forcing them to close mental care facilities. According to Glazer’s report, for a fraction of the cost of incarcerating a mentally ill inmate, the government could empower new community health centers. Glazer’s concludes that jails are not suitable to treat mentally ill people.

Ridgeway, James. "Fortresses Of Solitude." Columbia Journalism Review 6 June 2013: 31. Master File Premier. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.

James Ridgeway is a co-founder of the Solitary Watch website, in which he has been reporting about solitary confinement for several years. In his article, Ridgeway argues that after making reports for three years, he has concluded that the methods and the restrictions implemented by supermax facilities to control or punish prisoners in supermax facilities constitute torture. Ridgeway argues that most prisoners held at Supermax prisons have never committed an action of violence in prison and illustrates that some inmates are classified as “high risk” for displaying the symptoms of untreated mental illnesses, mouthing off correctional officers and for testing positive for marijuana, (which are nonviolent misbehaviors). The author goes on to explain that such torturing practices are performed at supermax prisons because correctional administrators have kept them away from the press and therefore most people are unaware of the impact of such practices not only for inmates but also for our society.

"The Psychology Of Cruelty: Recognizing Grave Mental Harm In American Prisons." Harvard Law Review 128. 4. Feb. 2015. 1250-71. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

This article explains how most courts don’t recognize the adverse mental harm of solitary confinement in supermax prisons.

This article also expounds the frameworks that the Supreme Court has used for the past fifteen years to rule in cases where prisoners have challenged the Court. The Supreme Court relies on psychological and neuroscientific evidence to rule in lawsuits that have been filed evoking the violation of the Eight Amendment that prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. In order to apply the law, the Court decides whether confinement is cruel and usual. In addition, a prisoner must also prove that correctional officers had subjective awareness of the inmate’s cruel punishment. The Eight Amendment doctrine is constantly developed, as of today, the Court has split it into two branches: The first branch, if the punishment is “grossly out of proportion to the severity of the crime. The second branch of Eighth Amendment jurisprudence policies conditions within prisons” (Harvard Law

Review).

Tietz, Jeff "Slow-Motion Torture." Rolling Stone 1171 (2012): 58. MasterFile Premier. Web. 8 Oct. 2015.

In this article, Tietz expounds how solitary confinement is not only applied to the most dangerous prisoners in the United States, but has also become a common practice in maximum security prisons.

Tietz points out that the assignment of inmates to supermax prisons are “made extrajudicially, by prison officials, without appeal to any authority beyond the correctional system”. In addition, the author discusses Brian Nelson’s case, in which he was sentenced for sixteen to twenty-six years in prison for taking part in an armed robbery and murder. Nelson was transfer to a supermax prison without clear evidence or reason for his transfer. The reason for Nelson’s transfer to Tamms Correctional Center in Illinois remains unclear because Nelson had no history of any psychiatric problems and he had never posed any threats to himself or other prisoners. After a year at Tamms, Nelson stopped sleeping completely and started to demonstrate serious psychological problems (pacing 18 hours a day). The main point of Tietz is to illustrate the psychological damage of solitary confinement and the unfairness of assigning an inmate to a supermax facility because, as he points out, “judges almost never place a convict in an isolation cell” (Tietz). Some prisoners have been placed in permanent solitary confinement without any uniform

criteria.