Abstract This paper discussed the topic of the effects of solitary confinement mainly in regards to Supermax prisons, but prisons of different levels as well. Also, the articles used to complete this paper converse about the legal issues with solitary confinement pertaining to the effects it has on inmates, isolated in units that are used to keep someone from interacting with anything or anyone outside of the walls, otherwise known as Communication Management Units (CMUs) or Secure housing Units (SHUs). CMUs contain a high degree of surveillance of the inmates. The articles also include the introduction and reintroduction of solitary confinement within a century’s time, and cases that were brought to trial challenging violations to the …show more content…
Demers (2013) stated that “penitentiaries developed out of the reform efforts Pennsylvania Quakers, were houses of penitence, and it was believed that solitary confinement- which left prisoners alone in their cell with nothing to do but repent- was the most expeditious route to spiritual reformation.” There are still confrontations about individual isolation today, and it is shown in the case of Aref v. Holder which consisted of the opposition of the usage of Communication Management Units (CMU’s). Downs (2011) found that “at the forum, Meeropool announced some good news: that very afternoon, a judge had decided that CCR’s lawsuit Aref v. Holder, challenging the existence of the CMUs, could proceed to trial to challenge the violation of prisoners’ fundamental constitutional rights that the CMU’s represent.” Not long after the introduction of solitary confinement, the deprivation of certain needs for us as humans to continue to perform at a sufficient level of competence was discovered; furthermore, these effects are the reasons why the U.S. Supreme Court decided to prohibit prisons from using solitary confinement. Demers (2013) stated that “by the late nineteenth century, however, the practice was largely phased out, in part due to a US Supreme Court ruling that solitary confinement constituted additional punishment and caused serious mental problems and suicide.” Therefore, there is a lot of gray zone that has been covered and still in question when it comes to individual