In June 2015, a Louisiana judge ordered the release of Albert Woodfox after 43 years of
solitary confinement.
He is the United States’ longest confined prisoner, and one of the “Angola Three”;
a group accused of killing a prison guard in 1972.
Extended isolation has been widely condemned by human rights groups, and considered harmful
and unnecessary.
Yet many prisons across america still practice it.
So, what does America’s solitary confinement look like?
Well first, solitary confinement is when prisoners are put into a small, isolated cell, and denied
physical and social contact for 22 to 24 hours a day.
The cells have no windows, only fluorescent lights, and food is delivered twice daily
through a slot in the door.
Often this method of detention is used when a prisoner is dangerous to himself and/or
others or is suspected to be in a gang.
Sometimes prisoners in danger of being killed, such as child molesters or police informants,
are put into solitary confinement under “protective custody”.
In California, prisoners who break the rules by having more than five dollars, or tattooing
supplies, can be indefinitely put into isolation.
Currently, as many as 80,000 prisoners are thought to be in solitary confinement in at
least 44 states.
This includes a large percentage of juvenile offenders.
On New York’s Riker’s Island prison, nearly 15% of juveniles are held in isolation at
some point or another, with an average stay of 43 days.
A number of UN bodies have stated that keeping minors in solitary is cruel, inhumane and
degrading.
Some prisons, called Supermax prisons, are designed to separate out the “worst of the
worst” prisoners.
In California’s Pelican Bay, prisoners spend an average of 6.8 years in isolation, and
some have spent decades alone.
A 2003 Human Rights Watch report found that one third to one half of all prisoners in
solitary confinement have some form of mental illness.
And since the late 19th century, the US Supreme Court has admitted that keeping prisoners
in solitary confinement can cause symptoms of mental illness, and reduces physical and
mental capacity.
By comparison, the UK only holds about 500 prisoners in solitary at any one time, and
many are kept there for less than a full day.
Additionally, third party volunteers monitor isolation conditions to make sure they are
not unreasonably cruel.
The unnecessary cost and damage caused by solitary confinement has long been known.
Solitary confinement costs about three times more per prisoner than keeping them with the
other inmates.
And studies have shown that it does not improve inmate behavior.
This cruel and ineffective method of punishment has been condemned even by the UN’s Torture
expert.
So when it comes to solitary confinement, it’s hard to make an argument for its continued
use.
It’s no big surprise that being isolated completely from human contact can have some
harmful mental effects.
To learn exactly what it does to your brain, check out this interesting video from DNews.
Thanks for watching!
We’ll see you again tomorrow.