Life in a Box (the use of solitary confinement in American prisons)

[Are_grits_groceries]

<snip>
In a groundbreaking work by journalist Susan Greene titled "The Gray Box," it is revealed that tens of thousands of American prisoners are being held in prolonged states of solitary confinement in prisons across the country.
<snip>
She writes, "Among the misperceptions about solitary confinement is that it's used only on the most violent inmates, and only for a few weeks or months. In fact, an estimated 80,000 Americans — many with no record of violence either inside or outside prison — are living in seclusion. They stay there for years, even decades."

Trying to escape, fighting or being affiliated with a gang can get an inmate tossed into solitary. So can cussing at a guard, filing a lawsuit against prison conditions or simply being a juvenile who's safety might be at risk in the general population.

Make no mistake, I believe prison guards should feel safe at work and that prisons are for punishment. If an inmate breaks the rules, then a few days in the box is standard operation procedure. But aren't prisons also supposed to try to rehabilitate inmates who will someday be released? What good does it do keep a convict secluded for so long that he either emerges in a state of vengeful rage or as a broken, unfixable person?
<snip>
http://www.creators.com/opinion/diane-dimond/life-in-a-box.html

We are a morally bankrupt country. This is beyond cruel and unusual punishment!

[lapislzi]

1. My co-worker has a son in supermax.

He was convicted of a gang murder. I have no way of determining his guilt or innocence. His family had no money to mount a defense, and I doubt that the public defender assigned to him offered a very robust defense. I think the trial lasted one or two days.

He was 18 years old when the shooting occurred, and he has been in supermax since he was 19. He is now 25 or 26. Of the seven years he's been incarcerated, he's been in the SHU (secure housing unit) for all seven years, except for the times he's moved between facilities--always farther away and ever more inconvenient to visit.

Why? Because the crime he was convicted of was gang-related, and he is considered a high risk for gang behavior. He will never be out of the SHU until he is paroled, if ever.

I give his mom books and magazines for him...these are pretty much all the diversion he is allowed. His meals are shoved at him through a door near the floor. He has one hour a week in the yard--alone--for recreation and exercise.

The prison-industrial complex in this country is an abomination.

[tritsofme]

2. Things to consider before murdering someone

I suppose.

[Are_grits_groceries]

3. Did you read the article?

The author concentrates on people in solitary have not committed the worst crimes. It appears to be on some whimsy at times.

Those in solitary for long periods will be even worse when paroled. I don't believe that trying to give prisoners access to a education or other training makes it a country club. However, they will get out and they will commit even more crimes.

There are the worst of the worst such as serial killers and such who should be watched carefully. However, our prison system is a breeding ground for a permanent underclass.

[lapislzi]

4. Things to consider before being black in a high-crime area.

I have no reason to think the kid isn't guilty, but the trial was a sham. The rival gang turned state's evidence. Guilty or not, the kid never stood a chance.

Furthermore, years of unrelenting solitary confinement are cruel and unusual, by most people's standards.

Compassion much?

[gopiscrap]

5. I know of a Jesuit Priest in Solitary Confinement at a Federal Dentention Center

His only crime: embarrassing the government!!!