Cruel And Unusual Punishment Summary

Cruel and unusual punishment: it's time to end solitary confinement, written by Debra Parks outlines the conflicting problems of solidary confinement and how correctional facilities need to aid in helping prisoners instead of adding to their mental instabilities. Within this discussion, I will produce a framework based on the theories of Emile Durkheim concerning social solidarity and the “Penal Law”, debating how confinement and punishment should be controlled in society.

The overall outlook of the article explores how methods of isolation are common practices within Canadian jurisdiction. Throughout the article, Debra Parks discusses how this treatment of confinement is mostly given to minorities, including those who are indigenous, black and women. These issues are becoming increasingly problematic throughout Canada. Officials’ working in the prison industry state that confinement is the most secure and beneficial way of protecting inmates from risks and danger. Prison officials also state that confinement is an advantageous method of rehabilitating prisoners from psychological issues, including self-harm and other mental illnesses. However, research shows that confinement does to provide any type of benefit to the inmate, the prison, or the community as a whole. From this research, the treatment of these prisoners has caused a major uproar from the politicians to the community itself

The emphasis on the penal law suggests that these certain laws and rules are made and implemented within society to ensure that harm and other offences are avoided. Furthermore, Durkheim argued that the penal law and the social practices that are evident is what helps regulate society, as he states that without these rules, individuals within this society will follow no collective practices or obedience and from this, will feel no sense of