Solitary confinement in prisons should be discontinued

*Trigger Warning: Mentions Suicide*

The use of solitary confinement in prisons has been going on for centuries. Solitary confinement is convenient for prisons, as inmates can be put in a small room by themselves, where fights and violence are far less likely to happen. But the overuse of solitary confinement is practically a form of torture that permanently scars individuals who are forced to experience it. Mentally harming individuals purely for convenience’s sake is unacceptable, and the overuse of solitary confinement should be reevaluated. 

To begin, solitary confinement was first initiated in the 18th-century by Quakers at the Walnut Street Jail in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was believed that the complete isolation and total silence would give the inmates the opportunity to reflect on their crimes, read the Bible, and ask God for forgiveness; but, instead of becoming remorseful, the inmates developed severe mental illnesses from the isolation, traumatized by being alone all day, every day. The Quakers discontinued the practice after they realized the effect it had on the inmates. 

We can still see the oppressive effects of solitary confinement. Kalief Browder, who was sixteen years old at the time, was arrested in 2010 after he was falsely accused of stealing a backpack. According to the New York Times, Browder denied a plea deal and spent three years on Rikers Island, a prison in New York City, waiting for trial. Browder was in solitary confinement for the entirety of those three years. Browder made multiple suicide attempts while in prison, and ultimately killed himself in 2015.

Browder’s loved ones described how his behavior had changed after his release from prison. He would spend days in his room and was uncomfortable around large groups of people; the three years of freedom he experienced before his death were hardly different from when he was under lock-and-key. Stories like this demonstrate how solitary confinement is dangerous and has lasting impacts on the mental well-being of those exposed to it. 

If the Quakers, who invented solitary confinement, disbanded it because it was too cruel, then why is it still common in 2023? The permanent mental effects of solitary confinement were enough even for 18th-century joe-schmoes to drop it, so how can we continue to justify the overuse of solitary confinement on inmates today when its effects are so obvious, and when there are much better methods that could be used instead?

Now, I can appreciate that sometimes solitary confinement might be needed, such as when an inmate gets into a fight and needs to be separated from the general population for a short period of time. But solitary confinement should be for short periods, no more than 24 hours, and used only in the case of violence. Inmates can be put in solitary confinement for any transgression of rules: refusing to be strip searched, having food they aren’t supposed to, mouthing off to guards, etc. Inmates can spend weeks in small cells for minor infractions, enduring horrible psychological trauma.

Solitary confinement is clearly an unconscionable form of punishment for prisoners. People, regardless of their past or current circumstances, deserve to be treated with dignity. We have more humane punishments for individuals outside of prison, so there is no reason to torture inmates for the sake of convenience.

Thumbnail photo via Wikimedia Commons