a bunk bed with striped linen behind bars

Should Solitary Confinement be an Acceptable Punishment for Criminals?– The “Unlock the Box Campaign”

By Lucinda G10

Solitary Confinement is the isolation of inmates from the rest of the prison for a period of time. Imagine that the Government suddenly decided to make a rule stating, “Inmates who misbehave will be left in the cold and starved”, totally disregarding human emotions and needs. The existence of solitary confinement is common knowledge, however, most don’t understand how detrimental it can be to a person. There are many different ways in which solitary confinement is justified. Certain individuals can’t be in the vicinity of other prisoners due to their need for protection from other prisoners (Juveniles, LGBTQ+, etc). Despite this, it shouldn’t be carried out for elongated periods of time. The UN states that if anyone is in solitary confinement for over 15 days, they are being psychologically tortured (“United States”), showcasing the true risk and horrors of isolation, also confirmed by the data below. Currently, It is estimated that across the USA there are between 80,000-100,000 people in solitary confinement (“Solitary Confinement”). The brutality of solitary confinement is recounted by inmate Michael Johnson’s experience with solitary confinement–living in a parking spot sized cell for 36 months. He was prohibited from doing exercise and having any contact with other people. His only reprieve was a 10-minute shower, once a week (Stroud). 

15%Up to 15% of those kept in solitary are confined repeatedly in confinement for a consecutive 1-3 year period33%Over ⅓ inmates become suicidal and/or suicidal after only 15 days300%Keeping an inmate in solitary confinement costs 2-3 times more than just keeping them in a regular prison
(“End Solitary”)

“Unlock the Box” Campaign

There are several campaigns working towards stopping the use of isolation in prisons, one being ‘Unlock the box’. They want the United States to fall into full compliance with the UN’s Mandela Rules for the treatment of prisoners in the next 10 years. Should they succeed, solitary will be wholly banned in prisons. As of now, the campaign is set up in 19 states and is branching out into more. 

Fortunately for ‘Unlock the Box’ the campaign has been effective. On October 18th 2023, Brianne Nadeau (Champion) proposed a new DC Bill to abolish the use of solitary. The Bill was called the “Eliminating Restrictive and Segregated Enclosures (“ERASE”) Solitary Confinement Act of 2023” (“B25-0543 – Eliminating”). It prohibited the use of almost all solitary confinement in penal institutions, specifically those owned by the Department of Corrections  (“B25-0543 – Eliminating”).

In 15 years (2009-2024), 42 states were able to create laws and regulations ranging from controlling the use of solitary confinement to downright abolishing it. Some states only disallowed it for certain groups of people, like elderly, children and women carrying babies (Stroud).

The bill and regulations imposed have been the first steps in the eradication of emotional and psychological torture through isolation, but there are still many different problems that need to be fixed. 

There may be some people across the globe who will argue that in order to punish and correct criminals, isolating them is the best action to take. However, thorough research disproves this as it is cost ineffective, mentally detrimental and physically damaging.

Ask yourself if you want to be kept alone in a room the size of your bathroom for an extended period of time. If you want to help stop the use of solitary in prisons, help raise awareness and research the ‘Unlock the Box’ campaign

Works Cited

“United States: Prolonged solitary confinement amounts to psychological torture, says UN expert.” United Nations, 28 Feb. 2020, http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2020/02/united-states-prolonged-solitary-confinement-amounts-psychological-torture. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024

James Lawrence's avatar Posted by James Lawrence
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