Solitary Confinement
Iesha Brown
10/1/12
PSY 111
Solitary Confinement and what it does to Your Mind.
Try picturing this; you are locked in this cell for 23 hours a day. The cell is small about 6 feet by 8 feet. In the cell there is a steel toilet, a sink built in the top. There is also a steel bed with a very thin matress.There is small shelf for some of your personal items, and a desk hanging off the wall without a chair. There is a window that is about 5 inches wide and about 4 feet tall, but you can 't see out of it. It 's made of fog clouded glass. The window is also covered with steel with little holes. What I 'm describing is a cell in a section of a prison called solitary confinement. While prisoners are in solitary confinement they are forced to be in this tiny cell for 23 hours a day. They are only allowed to come out for recreation five times a week for one hour. Their rec in a cage. They are allowed to take three showers a week, and it can only be for five minutes. Solitary confinement is the confinement of a prisoner in a cell or other place in which he or she is completely isolated from others. In my opinion Solitary confinement is barbaric, and does more harm than it does justice. These criminals are being released back into their neighborhoods after being locked up with no human contact for years. Solitary confinement has been around since the 19th century and mental instability has been linked to solitary confinement since the 1860s. Prison records from the Denmark institute during 1870-1920 shows that staff noticed inmates were showing signs of mental illness while in isolation, revealing that this persistent problem has been around for decades. Solitary confinement was developed as a humane alternative. In 1970, the Quackers built Walnut Street Jail in Philidelphia with a, “Revolutionary and too many humane purpose". The jail was meant to punish and reform. Walnut Street is known as the "Birthplace of the modern prison system". There are two types of
10/1/12
PSY 111
Solitary Confinement and what it does to Your Mind.
Try picturing this; you are locked in this cell for 23 hours a day. The cell is small about 6 feet by 8 feet. In the cell there is a steel toilet, a sink built in the top. There is also a steel bed with a very thin matress.There is small shelf for some of your personal items, and a desk hanging off the wall without a chair. There is a window that is about 5 inches wide and about 4 feet tall, but you can 't see out of it. It 's made of fog clouded glass. The window is also covered with steel with little holes. What I 'm describing is a cell in a section of a prison called solitary confinement. While prisoners are in solitary confinement they are forced to be in this tiny cell for 23 hours a day. They are only allowed to come out for recreation five times a week for one hour. Their rec in a cage. They are allowed to take three showers a week, and it can only be for five minutes. Solitary confinement is the confinement of a prisoner in a cell or other place in which he or she is completely isolated from others. In my opinion Solitary confinement is barbaric, and does more harm than it does justice. These criminals are being released back into their neighborhoods after being locked up with no human contact for years. Solitary confinement has been around since the 19th century and mental instability has been linked to solitary confinement since the 1860s. Prison records from the Denmark institute during 1870-1920 shows that staff noticed inmates were showing signs of mental illness while in isolation, revealing that this persistent problem has been around for decades. Solitary confinement was developed as a humane alternative. In 1970, the Quackers built Walnut Street Jail in Philidelphia with a, “Revolutionary and too many humane purpose". The jail was meant to punish and reform. Walnut Street is known as the "Birthplace of the modern prison system". There are two types of
Cited: Ball, B. (2012, Oct 31).What life is like in solitary confinement at north carolina’s central prison. McClatchy-Tribune Business News. 1-10 21 Oct 2012. Website. Solitary Confinement. Wikipedia 1-6. 10 Oct 2012. Website Sullivan, Laura. (2006). In U.S Prisons Thousands Spend Years in Isolation. 1-3. 21 Oct 2012. Website. Sullivan, Laura. (2006). Making it on the outside after decades in solitary. 1-6. 21 Oct 2012. Website. Sullivan, Laura. (2006). Hear Harkins Tell his story. 1-3. 21 Oct 2012 Website. Weir, Kirsten. (2012). Alone in the hole, Vol 43, No.5, page 54. 21 Oct 2012. Website.