Solitary Confinement Effects

Effects on Inmates and Family Members:

Solitary confinement negatively changes a person psychologically in addition to their physical well—being. A study done by Jeffrey L. Metzner M.D. showed that 15 to 20 percent of inmates require psychiatric intervention during their time in confinement, and 8 to 19 percent of prisoners admitted into confinement already have a diagnosed psychiatric disorder that makes functioning in a normal manner incredibly difficult (Metzer). Mentally unstable inmates often experience depression and hallucinations that lead to something far worse than sitting in an empty room for hours on end, many go to the extremes of committing suicide just to end their suffering. In 2011, suicides made up 5.5 percent of deaths in

According to Dr. Alexandra Fleischmann, an expert in suicide prevention at the World Health Organization’s Department of Mental Health and Substance abuse; suicide is difficult to predict so the only way to intervene is to address as many risk factors as possible, these factors are typically mental distress, chronic illness, acute emotional distress or the loss of a loved one. Furthermore, solitary confinement is not meant to act as a mental hospital; however, it is intended to separate the dangerous prisoners from the rest of the general prison population. The ethical concern is introduced when inmates placed in confinement do not commit a crime that would mandate the use of a solitary confinement sentence. A cause for concern is also expressed when a lack of basic care, as well as supplemental psychiatry care, is denied to inmates. Inmates Brian Chavez and Brandon Bracamonte filed a lawsuit against Third West Max prison for neglect to its prisoners in solitude. Bracamonte was forced to live in solitude for a year, he was living in filth, denied access to natural light and fresh air. Bracamonte was only allowed to step outside of his cell every other day which in turn caused him to suffer debilitating psychological effects. Bracamonte was only thirty-five years old and was becoming fearful of

Yes. The system is horribly broken and has lost sight of the vision that it was originally based off. There are a few simple strategies that can aid confinement in being more effective to society as a whole as well as to the inmates that are being held within it. First of all, not enough is being done to support the mental and physical state of inmates. By having psychologists on staff that are working with the inmates, the likelihood of improvement in behavior will greatly increase; therefore, more inmates will be released back into society without the probability of relapsing back into their old habits. A study done in 2006 by Texas prisons shows that 40.8% of prisoners get arrested within three years of their release, 60.8% of inmates who were held in solitary relapsed within the same time frame showing that they are 20% more likely to relapse than if they were in the general population (Rodriguez). Being released from confinement is only half of the battle, many inmates are released without any parole or help from the prison to ensure that he or she will stay out of trouble after experiencing the taste of freedom (Shapiro). Secondly, inmates in solitary confinement need the opportunity to have an education and to learn tasks that will help them contribute to society as well as to their own families. This could include bringing in tutors for academic learning, a