1, March 2016 Solitary Confinement
Solitary Confinement is a barbaric form of punishment. It
violates the 8th amendment of the US Constitution. It is illegal in
treaties ratified by the U.S. It is
guaranteed to harden human beings confined to its solitary dungeons. A
staggering 80,000 are confined to solitary. Justice Kennedy commented that the
insidious practice is sure to “literally drive men mad.” The prisoners are held in windowless cells
devoid of virtually all human contact. A correctional facility should make
every effort to rehabilitate prisoners to drive down recidivism rates when they
are released. President Obama is the first president to denounce the practice,
and called for its total ban for juveniles. He stated "how
can we subject prisoners to unnecessary solitary confinement, knowing its
effects, and then expect them to return to our communities as whole people?”
After much legal prodding and hunger strikes, California agreed to overall its
system which is the largest and most brutal in the country. 500 of the
prisoners who participated in the class-action lawsuit had been in solitary for
more ten years. A United Nations report states that stays longer
than 15 days could amount to torture. Albert Woodfox served 43 years in solitary, more time than
anyone in U.S. history. This is a stark reminder of the injustice that pervades
our criminal justice system. It makes us far less safe and is an affront
to our common humanity. It is aptly described by social scientists as social death.
No comments:
Post a Comment