It had been two days since I was violently apprehended by the Thought Police. They had brought me to the Ministry of Love where it was evident that my death was rapidly approaching. But when? This was the question that constantly pondered inside my mind. The distress of not knowing the answer was unbearable.
Upon my arrival, I was placed in a miniature jail cell in the basement of the Ministry where all recent offenders were kept. I found myself surrounded by metallic bars without a bed or chair, forcing me to sleep on the concrete floors. I spent my days laying down on the cold, dusty and unsanitary floor, which caused my frail bones to feel continuous excruciating pain.
One evening, two muscular and robust men entered the basement level
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They proceeded by tying a straw rope around my neck, making it increasingly difficult to breath. I was directed out of the basement and pushed through a series of silent and dingy hallways. I was finally brought to a halt as I heard squeaks from a large door opening. Following, I was forcibly jerked inside the room and attached to a metal pole sticking out of the ground. One of the men approached me and vigorously yanked the plastic bag off of my head, ignoring the rope that was slightly chocking …show more content…
He explained that the reason I was brought to this room was to confess of the many thought crimes I have committed. Furthermore, if I do not comply and refuse to confess, I will be tortured and my family slaughtered. At the exact moment, the second man switches on the four screen with the remote on the table. I was mortified to see my mother, father and two siblings on the screen. Each with an agent of the Ministry of Love, which had a weapon in their hands.
At first, I did not take their threats seriously but I changed my mind very quickly after the torture began. When I refused, both men laughed with a smirk on their faces. They were evidently not very surprised with my response. I began to sweat greatly as the men grabbed the cage filled with spiders. I yelled for help as they poured thousands of large spiders on my body. I felt them crawl through my shirt and pants as I attempted the shake them out. I still remained strong, which led to the men clutching two snakes approaching it to my face. Both snakes nipped at me hoping to poison me with their
The Convicts, by Iain Lawrence, is a story of a young boy who faces great odds to complete his quest to help his father. This novel takes many twists and turns through the landscape of London, more specifically in nineteenth century London. However, London is not described in the picturesque view many people have come to know London as. Lawrence shows the uglier more rugged lifestyle of many poor people in London during this time period. Within a society like this in London, swindling, gangs, and prison become common subjects among the lower classes, especially in this novel. Although life was hard for many, the characters in this novel find adventure along the way while aboard ships and through underground sewers.
A reality where the prisoner is dehumanized and have their rights and mental health abused. “I have endured lockdowns in buildings with little or no heat; lockdowns during which authorities cut off the plumbing completely, so contraband couldn’t be flushed away; and lockdowns where we weren’t allowed out to shower for more than a month” (Hopkins 154). A prisoner currently must survive isolation with improper shelter in the form of heat. Issues compound with a lack of running water and bathing, a proven severe health danger, especially for someone lacking proper nutrients such as a prisoner in lockdown. These abuses of physical well being then manifest into damage of prisoners’ mental well being. “Perhaps I should acknowledge that the lockdown-and, indeed, all these years-have damaged more than I want to believe” (Hopkins 156). Even for the experienced prisoner the wrath of unethically long lockdowns still cause mental damage. Each and every isolation period becomes another psychological beating delivered as the justice system needlessly aims to damage the already harmed inmates. The damage is so profound inmates even recognize the harm done to them by their jailors. An armed and widely used psychological weapon, the elongated lockdown procedures decimate mental health each and every time
Someone, suspected of a crime, is arrested by police. Later on, the suspect goes to court to face their charges. A classic episode of Law & Order. But, where do these suspects go in between the two events. They are held in their local jail of course. While people are familiar with the arrest and courtroom scenes from TV, many are unfamiliar with the jail scene, which becomes home to the suspects who cannot make bail until a court rules a verdict for their case.
It is 1787 in the home of Benjamin Franklin where a group of powerful Philadelphians held in high esteem have congregated to deliberate a very pressing issue. They are conversing on the present prison institutions established across America and Europe. It seems that the institutions in both countries are known for their appalling conditions. Benjamin Franklin and his colleagues have set out to change the course of prison history. Their plan is to make a prison system based entirely on reform and enlightenment instead of punishment and misery. They believe prisoners should repent and seek God to help them learn from their mistakes, hence the name penitentiary. After many long years, the men finally reach success and the Eastern State Penitentiary is opened in 1829. America was in a time of reform which was obvious by the opening of such a diverse prison. But no matter how much the Eastern State Penitentiary claims to be averse to torture and harsh conditions, it was after all a prison. From the outside, the Eastern State Penitentiary appeared to be marvelous and sensational, but what went on inside of those massive walls was something entirely different. Life at the Eastern State Penitentiary was unspeakable because of the cell life, disease, and treatment that the inmates had to endure.
The “pains of imprisonment” can be divided into five main conditions that attack the inmate’s personality and his feeling of self-worth. The deprivations are as follows: The deprivation of liberty, of goods and services, of heterosexual relationships, autonomy and of security.
The 1970s in the United States was a time of incredible change, doubt, as well as reform. The many issues happening throughout the country helped to lead to the discomfort in many prisoners that eventually lead to their e...
There are too many people incarcerated in the United States of America. The U.S. imprisons 724 people per 100,000. In absolute numbers United States has more of its citizens behind bars then do China or Russia combined. (Gallagher 2008). There are about thousand U.S. citizens that become incarcerated in the prison system in any given week. Many of the prisons are so crowded that they have converted the gymnasium into a massive housing unit. These massive housing units hold hundreds of prisoners inside small gymnasiums. The bunk beds are stacked four or five high with every available space reserved for the bunk beds. Even though the prisons are over double capacity they have not added one extra toilet or shower at any of the facilities. Because of this many of the prisoners report tha...
Evidence for a crisis has occurred many times within these 30 years. The past few years has seen the prison system without a single spare cell for new inmates. Prison officers being jailed for planning attacks on inmates. The appalling racist murder of Zahid Mubarek in 2000 who was killed by an inmate, The closure of Shrewsbury prison even though it was described as a "high-performing prison". http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-22559301. As well as the riots which have occurred in the privatised prison of .......This is just to name a few of the terrible events which have contributed to the crisis within the past 30 years. The penal system is struggling already and the latest figures suggest that the prison population is going to scale even higher....... STATS
Prisoners must always address the guards as "Mr. Correctional Officer," and the warden as "Mr. Chief Correctional Officer."
When we do research on daily prison life, we come across two typical but less than ideal situations: either social imaginaries cloud our judgment or information provided by the prisons themselves hide certain weak or bad aspects that they do not want to make public. We can also find information on TV, but most of the time it either exaggerates or minimizes the facts. In order to obtain more reliable information, we have to have access to people who are working or have worked in this institution, and such will be the sources of this essay. We will be describing and giving examples of prison violence according to three types of violence: sexual, physical and psychological violence.
Solitary confinement is a method of punishment which isolates the prisoner from any human interaction. Its purpose is to deter the prisoner from acting out. Giving oneself time to think and correct their actions. However, this cruel and inequitable sanction does more harm than good towards the prisoner, if any. When a prisoner is placed in solitary confinement they are challenged physically and mentally. They are caged in 24 hours a day with only limited interaction from the prison guards. The prisoner is left alone, detached from the world. This can cause a negative effect on the prisoner's mental state. The prison writings of Charles Dickens “Philadelphia and its Solitary Prison, from American Notes” and Kate Richards O’Hare “Crime and Criminals”
Imagine sitting in a tiny cell for the years at a time slowly but surely losing your mind. This is what many prisoners in the American prison system face today. Solitary confinement is when an inmate is isolated from any human contact, often with the exception of members of prison staff, for 22–24 hours a day, with a sentence ranging from days to decades. This cruel and unusual punishment is used by prisons daily throughout the country. Atul Gawande, a surgeon, public health researcher, and author for The New Yorker writes the article ¨Is Long-Term Solitary Confinement Torture?¨, successfully convincing the reader that solitary confinement is nothing less than unreasonable torture.
They grabbed my mother, holding her down with all of their might while they went through everything, looking for weapons. While all this was happening, I was hiding under the secret plank in the middle of the floor in my room. When
The correctional system is based on helping offenders become part of society and not commit any crimes. Many prisons begin the correcting criminals since they are inside the jails, but many prisons do not. Prisons provide prisoners with jobs inside the prison where they get very little pay close to nothing and many have programs that will help them advance their education or get their high school diploma. There are various programs prisons provide to prisoners to help them get a job or have a skill when they are released from prison. In contrast, prisons that do not provide programs or help to prisoners rehabilitate and enter society again will be more likely to commit another crime and go back to jail. The Shawshank Redemption prison did not
Over 2.1 million inmates occupy the cells of prisons in the United States of America (Highest). Since the mid-1800’s, the prison population has almost doubled in size and still continues to grow. The amount of time spent in prison by an individual has also raised from 1993 (Espejo 21). Routines, crimes, and security contain similar structures in all prisons, but some involve worse circumstances and criminals; here is a look into the life of a prisoner.