Rodriguez, Sal. How many People Are In Solitary Confinement in California’s Prisons, www. solitarywatch. com/2013/12/04/many-california-prisoners-solitary-confinement/. Print
The number of prisoners kept in solitary in California has been observed to be inconsistent over the years in reference to recorded statistics.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s, most of the prisoners put in solitary confinement are those that are deemed as a security threat to the wider prison population.
To date, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s, solitary confinement has not been acknowledged as a formal term that represents a certain group of people.
In-text Citation (Rodriguez, 2013)
Kupers, Terry. A, How to Create Madness In Prison: Solitary Confinement In California, 2003. Print
Initially, solitary confinement was basically aimed to rehabilitate the prisoners rather than punishment.
Solitary confinement not only alters the individuals thinking, it also puts an extreme focus on the person, restricting and at other times retarding his performance.
Whenever prisoners were put in confinement, the responsible authorities spread propaganda that the parties involved were members of gangs in the prisons.
In-text Citation: (Kupers, 2003)
Greene, Susan, CO Prisons Officials Acknowledge Chief’s Murder Tied in Solitary Confinement Policies, 2013. Print
Solitary confinement not only exposed the prisoners to harsh conditions but it also exposed them to boredom and loneliness which in later stages developed into mental illness.
The lack of normal human contact and interactions, not only hampers proper reasoning but it also reduces their chances of cooperation once they are released to the outside world.
Clemens, the director of correction facilities in Colorado, reduced the number of prisoners kept in solitary from the original 47 percent to 23percent.
A survey carried out by the prison management, indicated that solitary confinement alters the mental health.
The revelations only came to light as a result of uproar from the mental health experts, civil rights lawyers and human rights activists.
In-text Citation: (Greene, 2013)
Saper, Howard. Annual report of the Office of the Correctional Investigator 2011-2012: Correctional Investigator’s Message, 2012. Print
According to the report, 36 percent of the prisoners admitted into the prisons required some form of psychiatric attention.
Most of the mentally ill prisoners were removed from solitary confinement to bolster their chances in recovering.
Confinement not only violates human rights but it also diminishes the hopes of mentally ill prisoners from recovering.
In-text Citation: (Saper, 2012)
Metzner, Jeffrey. L, Solitary Confinement and Mental Illness in U. S. Prisons: A challenge for Medical Ethics, 2010. Denver.
Most of the prisoners confined in solitary confinement are usually mentally ill; the separation increases the chances of aggravation of the mental illness.
Solitary separation ensures that the mentally ill prisoners don’t socialize with the rest of the prison population hence reducing the possibilities of insecurity.
Mentally ill patients require a lot of attention which may not be offered in the prisons since it is an area if separation.
In-text Citation: (Metzner, 2010)
Cohen, Andrew. Colorado Will No Longer Send the ‘ Major Mentally Ill to Solitary Confinement, 2013, m. theatlantic. com/national/archive/2013/12/colorado-will-no-longer-send-the-major-ill-to-solitary-confinement/282366/. Print
Mental prisoners slotted for parole were effectively monitored in solitary confinement.
Solitary confinement helped in classifying prisoners as either major or minor mentally ill patients.
The separation ensured that individual attention was given to the mentally ill patients
It also ensured that they did not cause harm to the other prisoners.
In-text Citation: (Cohen, 2013)
Statements
The first, second and third sources seek to give an explanation as to why solitary confinement does not suit mentally ill prisoners. The sources establish that confinement is not only a violation of human rights but it aggravates the mental illness.
My argument on the other hand, seeks to establish why solitary confinement is suitable for mentally ill patients. Notably, mentally ill patients pose a danger to other prisoners, and confinement also present the prisoners with a chance to obtain individual supervision.
