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Overpopulation within prisons
Solitary confinement and its effect essay
Overpopulation within prisons
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Over the past decades society has developed a “get tough” on crime and drugs mentality, due to politicians on the forefront. Which has led to mass incarceration, over population and the use of Supermaximum Security Prisons, also known as Supermax prisons. (Mears, 2013). Many legal and ethical issues arise from supermaxes due to the use of solitary confinement, lack of funding, lack of enrichment training for officers and excessive use of force. Human rights activist argue that solitary confinement is deemed cruel and unusual punishment, violating their constitutional rights (Mears, 2013). Supermax prisons retain the “worst of the worst” in a concentrated population, versus dispersing them throughout all the available facilities. During the
The goals of incarceration according to penological principles are incapacitation, rehabilitation, retribution, and deterrence. When exploring the outcomes of a time served in a supermax facility, rehabilitation can be immediately ruled out. Supermax facilities have been said to be potentially damaging to an inmate’s mental health and inflict irrational emotions of rage and lead an individual to lose touch with reality (Haney, 2003). Incapacitation is achieved through the incarceration of inmates in supermax facilities. Inmates are removed from society, preventing future crime. Incapacitation is achieved through all forms of incarceration, not just incarceration in supermax facilities. Deterrence is a heavily debated aspect. From a study done in 2005 by Roy King, the interviews of 42 supermax inmates had interesting findings in terms of deterrence. King’s findings suggested that some inmates spend their sentence in supermax reflecting on the wrongfulness of their actions. Inmates have stated that placement in these facilities have allowed them to release themselves from harmful influences of other problematic stressors and exercise self-control (King, 2005). Lastly, retribution.
Solitary confinement has the ability to shatter even the healthiest mind when subjected to indefinite lockdown, yet the mentally ill, who are disproportionately represented in the overall prison population, make up the majority of inmates who are held in that indefinite lockdown. Within your average supermax prison in which all inmates are subjected to an elevated form of solitary confinement, inmates face a 23-hour lockdown, little to no form of mental or physical stimulation that is topped off with no human interaction beyond the occasional guard to inmate contact. It is no wonder ‘torture’ is often used synonymously to describe solitary confinement. For years, cases arguing against solitary confinement have contested against its inhumane
“US: Look Critically at Widespread Use of Solitary Confinement.” Human Rights Watch, 1 July 2016,
Supermaximum security prisons, which fall under the consolidation model, are associated with a number of ethical problems. There are a number of issues that need to be taken into consideration when discussing the use of supermax prisons. Hans Toch, a corrections scholar, pointed out that the methods used in supermax prisons are not new penal techniques. In fact, those types of prison conditions were adopted in the past and rejected because of increased rates of inmates developing mental illness (Hickey, 2010). Supermaximum security prisons have been associated with past attempts, like the Eastern State Penitentiary, where twenty-four-hour isolation was used and there were no programs for self improvement.
Whether or not Supermax prisons, short for super-maximum security prisons, are more crucial and longer lasting, the question has been if these prisons are useful in applying lessons learned into criminals. Supermax prisons hold some of the most dangerous criminals convicted. Supermax prisons have been known to have their pros and cons. The common pros of supermax prisons was the separation of gangs as well as many other prisoners who act out in violence commonly. Although many may say that these kind of prisons are considered “concentration” and “dispersion”, supermax prisons are often needed to maintain relief of the criminals not acting out. The effectiveness of supermax prisons is what many debate on, which have made many different arguments
Stickrath, Thomas J., and Gregory A. Bucholtz. "Supermaximum Security Prisons Are Necessary." Supermax Prisons: Beyond the Rock. Lanham, MD: American Correctional Facility, 2003. Rpt. in America's Prisons. Ed. Clare Hanrahan. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.
The negative effects of the long-term use of solitary confinement in prisons has been under the spot light for years, and has been considered to be broken. The maltreatment of prisoners is a constant
It is easy to turn a blind I when there is no direct personal experience. Mass incarceration is an issue that influences other issues within the correctional system. The more people under correctional supervision means, the more individuals who can potentially be sexually victimized or placed in solitary confinement. Both are issues within the correctional system. Moreover, studies have shown that sexual victimization and solitary confinement have adverse side effects on inmates. If any of these variables are going to change for the better, then policy needs to change. Those in society, especially those with power who can affect policy in the penal system need to see these issues as a major problem. Some of the proposed solutions to reduce the incarceration rate and not new ideas, but a change in approach. Heroux (2011), suggested possible policy solutions to reduce the mass incarceration. Some of these solutions are earlier release, a change in mandatory minimums, transfer to non-institutions facilities, the diversion from institutional facilities, and doing away with mandatory minimum laws. This could be the next step towards reducing mass
Imagine. You are alone with your thoughts. There is nothing that can separate you from their unpredictable horrors because you spend 23 hours a day completely alone. In silence you wait, desperate for a chance to leave the four-walled, concrete cell you now call home. These are the conditions of solitary confinement that are still in widespread use throughout America today. Although solitary confinement may seem like the safest way to protect other prisoners, guards and even the inmate himself, it is an inhumane and cruel punishment and it has the opposite effect of what prisons are intended for. .
“Prison Overcrowding: The Problem.” American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC-American Legislative Exchange Council, 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
The past two decades have engendered a very serious and historic shift in the utilization of confinement within the United States. In 1980, there were less than five hundred thousand people confined in the nation’s prisons and jails. Today we have approximately two million and the numbers are still elevating. We are spending over thirty five billion annually on corrections while many other regime accommodations for education, health
Rhodes, Lorna A. “Pathological Effects of the Supermaximum Prison.” American Journal of Public Health. October 2005. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1449421/# __sec3title.
America locks up five times more of its' population than any other nation in the world. Due to prison overcrowding, prisoners are currently sleeping on floors, in tents, in converted broom closets and gymnasiums, or even in double or triple bunks in cells, which were designed for one inmate. Why is this happening? The U.S. Judicial System has become so succumbed to the ideal that Imprisonment is the most visibly form of punishment. The current structure of this system is failing terribly. To take people, strip them of their possessions and privacy, expose them to violence on a daily basis, restrict their quality of life to a 5x7ft cell, and deprive them of any meaning to live. This scenario is a standard form of punishment for violent offenders, although not suitable for nonviolent offenders.
The types of inmates that are housed in a supermax prison are prisoners that are dangerous and chronically violent (Schmallegar & Smykla 2015). Other types of prisoners that are housed in maximum prisons are ones who have escaped or attempted to escape from the high-security correctional facility, have incited or attempted to incite disruption in a correctional facility, or have preyed on weaker inmates.
Firstly, in order to gain a better understanding of the problems that plague or correctional system we must fully understand the enormous overcrowding problem that exist in the majority of or state and federal prisons. Since 1980 the prison population has quadrupled and only the numb...