Solitary Confinement Thesis

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Solitary confinement is a very effective way of keeping prisoners who have been in conflict, with other cellmates. But it is the worst punishment for their health. The cellmates who are unfortunate enough to be in solitary confinement start having mental symptoms abnormal to those of the regular prisoner in a normal cell. Some start hallucinating some start believing in suicide. Many people have tried to stop the use of solitary confinement by using the harsh conditions the prisoners are put to and calling it a violation of the 8th amendment Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact As Jeffrey Metzner MD and Jamie Fellner esq. explain ” Isolation can be psychologically harmful to…show more content…
The psychological effects are great as this is a real test of human endurance. There are also reported cases of sensory deprivation being used as a form of torture - inmates are locked in cells with no windows and are given meals are inconsistent times to confuse their bodies. They have no sense of time. If you have no sense of time, no idea when you are going to be free, you are very likely to crack. The cells are often soundproofed, the mind has almost no stimuli. According to the statistics of : "The Psychological Effects of Supermax Prisons" The statistics found by this report really are shocking - Its hadn't imagined that something found to be this bad for mental health could still be in practice today. 91% of inmates suffered anxiety and nervousness, 84% suffered lethargy, 84% had trouble sleeping, 70% were approaching a nervous breakdown, over 60% had chronically sweaty palms, heart palpitations, and loss of appetite, and over 50% had trembling hands, dizziness, and nightmares
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