...Solitary confinement is an incarceration norm in the United States and around the world, as prisoners are locked away and left to their own devices for days on end. Though this practice has mostly been commonplace and a part of the American criminal justice ethic for the better part of three centuries, some have questioned whether this is the future of criminal justice in America. Solitary confinement, it seems, has psychological effects that have previously been unknown and given this information, some argue that the practice is inhumane or in violation of the sixth amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Solitary confinement breaks down the mind’s ability to function and in the process, it does long-term, often irreparable damage to prisoners. Those prisoners, many of whom are later released at the end of their sentence, are afflicted with a new mental disability as a result of their time in solitary confinement. This can have dangerous effects on communities and it can lead to higher rates of recidivism among these prisoners. Given the accumulated knowledge that the scientific community now has on the long-term effects of solitary confinement, it is clear that this practice raises ethical and practical questions. It will, in the next ten to twenty years, force various states and the federal government to choose whether they want to continue with an inhumane practice that could leave communities with a new danger that has been wholly caused by incarceration...
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...Journal for Critical Animal Studies, Volume 10, Issue 2, 2012 (ISSN1948-352X) Beyond Dehumanization: A Post-Humanist Critique of Solitary Confinement Lisa Guenther Abstract What does it mean to be treated like a nonhuman animal? In this paper, I analyze the discourse of “dehumanization” in Madrid v Gomez, a 1995 Eighth Amendment case concerning the treatment of prisoners at California’s Pelican Bay Supermax Penitentiary. I argue that the language of dehumanization fails to describe the harm of solitary confinement because it remains complicit with a hierarchical opposition between human and nonhuman animal that rebounds against prisoners, especially those who have been racialized and/or sexualized as less than human. Humanist discourse neglects the sense in which both human and nonhuman animals are affective, corporeal beings who rely upon the support of others for their own capacity to orient themselves within a mutually-perceived world. Drawing on the testimony of inmates in solitary confinement, and situating this testimony in relation to the political and scientific history of US incarceration practices, I develop a post-humanist critique of solitary confinement. Keywords: Solitary confinement, sensory deprivation, intercorporeal Malebranche would not have beaten a stone as he beat his dog, saying that the dog didn’t suffer. Merleau-Ponty, Nature, 166 Certain carceral practices are often condemned – both by prisoners and by their legal or political advocates –...
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...Prof. Ross Clarkson ENG 1100 December 2, 2015 Isolation Warps a Human For most, being alone and isolated is a nice way to get away from overwhelming events happening in life. However, when it comes to extreme cases, isolation is very bad for someone’s well-being, according to Michael Bond who states, “for most people, prolonged social isolation is all bad” (Bond, “How Extreme Isolation Warps the Mind”). Overall, isolation has several negative impacts on the human mind and body. Extreme isolation can affect someone in three distinct ways: physically, mentally, and socially. Isolation can be caused either by yourself or by others. Isolation is being separated from others by one of the three following circumstances: living in a remote area, a perception of being removed from a community, or being held captive in a room. The main type of isolation is called social isolation which is the absence of social relationship and is typically considered very unhealthy if the time being spent alone becomes excessive. Another distinct type of isolation is called emotional isolation which can result from social isolation and is when people keep feelings completely to themselves. Physical health is very important to live a healthy, long life but in many cases of extreme isolation physical health is negatively affected. Bond states that “we’ve known for a while that isolation is physically bad for us. Loneliness interferes with a whole range of everyday functioning, such as...
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...costs are now the 2nd largest cost to the US taxpayer, behind Medicaid (Vera). In a study conducted by Professor Donald Black, an instructor at the university of Iowa’s department of psychology, it was found that 20% of prisoners have antisocial personality disorder or ASPD, consequently this data shows a large amount of prison costs can be attributed to those with ASPD. However, in comparison...
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...The topic on my research is psychological impact of incarceration. I will be discussing the how incarceration psychological effects the prisoner and their family. This is an important topic to discuss because America is known for having the highest incarceration rate in the world. And even though America has the highest incarceration rate, crime still has not been eliminated or been deterred. In fact, the recidivism rates are high within the U.S so what psychological impact does incarceration have on prisoners and their families? The article, Children of incarcerated mothers, gives great information on the psychological effects of children that mothers are in prison. Children whose mothers are in prison are among the riskiest of the high...
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...A1) Identify the link between imprisonment and suicide [10] Imprisonment very often has negative effects on offenders, in some cases they turn into victims of abuse themselves. Prison causes psychological distress, through overcrowding and bullying. This can lead to offenders self-harming and in many cases it can lead to suicide, which is more common in prison than the general population. Deaths in prison can be given various rulings by the coroner such as suicide (the prisoner had the intention to kill themselves), death by misadventure (accidental death) which in some instances can be self-harm gone wrong, and open verdicts. Dooley et al wanted to examine the unnatural deaths that occurred in prisons in England and Wales from 1972 and 1987. This research was in the form of a content analysis of prison department personal papers of prisoners’ records. Dooley compared verdicts of suicide with verdicts of unnatural causes or death by misadventure rulings. The research found that 300 suicides occurred in the time frame, 52 of which were due to self-inflicted harm gone wrong. There was little difference between the suicide group and the group that had self-harmed. However there were some real differences. For example, it was found that the prisoners who committed suicide were more likely to do so at night (this is so there is a less likely chance of them being caught in the act) and that the self-harm gone wrong group were more likely to be found during the daytime (this...
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...of mental health hospitals. Yet failures to this deinstitutionalisation movement led to jails and prisons becoming the go to places for mental health patients. The situation in UK prisons is similar as mental disorder was found in 37% of sentenced male prisoners, 63% of men on remand, 57% of sentenced women prisoners and 76% of women remand prisoners (Birmingham,...
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...The key factors that are present in prisons are that there have been 9 different eras in which different systems were used to punish prisoners(Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Since 1985 to present times the Just Desert Era was the last and final era and is still being used. Under this philosophy “offenders are punished because they deserve it”(Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). Also, it is not concerned with inmate's rehabilitation, treatment, or reform(Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). With the new changes dealing with issuing the punishments occurring has cause for the prison's population becoming overcrowded which push for supermax and no-frills prisons(Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015). The prisons today provide inmates with the opportunity of different kind...
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...At the time the sentence for many other offences was death. Colonialists never considered the possibility of rehabilitation; their aim was to frighten the offender into law abiding behavior. Unlike today where prisons are viewed as instruments of punishment, this has not always been the case. The common jail dates back hundreds of years, but was used solely as a means of detention, a temporary place for the prisoner until acquitted, fined, or subjected to corporal punishment (Schamalleger, F. 2010). Pennsylvania was determined to be different from other colonies. Founder William Penn brought his Quaker values to the new colony, relying on imprisonment with hard labor and fines as the treatment for most crimes, while death remained the penalty only for murder. In 1790 Philadelphia’s Walnut Street Jail became the first prison by the Pennsylvania Quakers. In the Penitentiary Era, which lasted from 1790 to 1825, prisoners were housed in penitentiaries, where they were supposed to do penance and be rehabilitated into productive citizens (Schmalleger, F. 2010). The Quakers hoped to use religious and human principles to rehabilitate the inmates. The philosophy of the prison was to have prisoners accept responsibility for their actions and make amends to...
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...Federal Prison Comparison Matrix Angel Kennedy CJS/255 March 7, 2016 Richard Gilbert Jail vs Prison Is there a difference between jail and prison, and if so, what factors separate the two? The belief each place is practically the same is a common misconception, however; there is one fundamental component in which governs the temporary or permanent placement of an offender. A jail’s and prison’s quality of food, facility resources, and availability of rehabilitative programs are all different, but; “the fundamental difference between jail and prison is the length of stay for inmates” (HG.org, 1995-2016) Jail and Its Place in Corrections The correctional mission of jails today is to use the combination of incarceration and rehabilitative methods to deter criminals from recommitting. Once officers have detained an offender, he or she is escorted to a local jail. Upon arrival, the criminal is taken into the "booking area" where he or she will undergo a process in which will determine placement: finger printing, photographing, stripping of personal property, examination, and bathing. If the criminal cannot make bond due to lack of funds or a bond was not given, the criminal will remain in custody until a trial is set, usually within the first twenty-four hours. According to BI, the average jail stay is twenty-three days, a sixty-four percent increase from fourteen days (2015). Rehabilitative programs are offered to those who have been sentenced to a year or more. The majority...
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...3:With various forms of thing technology (CCTV, cameras that detect speeders, wired courts, electronic monitoring, supermax prisons, etc.). FOR EXAMPLE why do we need police officers patrolling the streets (and highways) when we have the technological resources (via cameras to detect speeders and red light violations, and CCTV to monitor public places) to remotely monitor activities and deploy a smaller number of police to address crime problems that are detected? The downsizing of police force manpower may be an inevitable consequence of this type of technological innovation, which is one reason that technological change may be viewed suspiciously by line personnel and the unions that represent their interests. Similar scenarios can be...
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...RACISM IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM By Nichole Griffith Advised by Professor Chris Bickel SOC 461, 462 Senior Project Social Sciences Department College of Liberal Arts CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY June, 2012 © 2012 Nichole Griffith Table of Contents Research Proposal ............................................................................................................................1 Annotated Bibliography ...................................................................................................................2 Outline..............................................................................................................................................6 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................7 Research ..........................................................................................................................................8 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................29 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................31 Research Proposal The goal of my research is to expose the racism in the criminal justice system that is so hidden. I want to show how racism contributes to the huge number...
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